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Probing the Microenvironment of Mammary Tumors Using Multiphoton Microscopy

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Journal of Mammary Gland Biology and Neoplasia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Advances in optical imaging technologies that allow the subcellular resolution of undissected tissue have begun to offer new clues into the biology of development and disease. For cancer, such advances mean that the primary tumor is no longer a black box and that the disease can be studied throughout the metastatic cascade and not just as an endpoint. In this review we examine the advances in multiphoton imaging technology that have been used to define the microenvironment and its role in delineating the invasion and intravasation steps of metastasis inside living mammary tumors. Results show that the tumor microenvironment is a dynamic place where interactions between tumor cells, macrophages, blood vessels, and extracellular matrix fibers define the metastatic phenotype.

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Abbreviations

ECM:

extracellular matrix

MPIVI:

multiphoton-based intravital imaging

SHG:

second harmonic generation

MMPs:

matrix metallo-proteases

GFP:

green fluorescent protein

CFP:

cyan fluorescent protein

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank current and former laboratory members for their contributions to the work discussed in this review. The research summarized here was supported by CA100324.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy and Structural Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA

    Mazen Sidani, Jeffrey Wyckoff, Chengsen Xue, Jeffrey E. Segall & John Condeelis

  2. Analytical Imaging Facility, Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA

    Jeffrey Wyckoff & John Condeelis

Authors
  1. Mazen Sidani
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  2. Jeffrey Wyckoff
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  3. Chengsen Xue
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  4. Jeffrey E. Segall
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  5. John Condeelis
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mazen Sidani.

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Sidani, M., Wyckoff, J., Xue, C. et al. Probing the Microenvironment of Mammary Tumors Using Multiphoton Microscopy. J Mammary Gland Biol Neoplasia 11, 151–163 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10911-006-9021-5

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