Integrated quantification based on confocal imaging: cell crowding modulates heterogeneity in GPCR-mediated calcium oscillation.

Results from single cell imaging, facilitated by high resolution microscopy, have demonstrated cell-to-cell variability within the same cell population in contexts ranging from cell growth to cell migration. Recent studies suggest that such variability conveys important information about diseased states. However, manual analysis and interpretation of heterogeneous calcium oscillation based on time-lapsed images, as practiced today, is tedious, and essentially infeasible for large datasets.