Wound Healing

Fibroblasts are cells that create and maintain the extracellular matrix (ECM) of connective tissues, providing structural support for organs and tissues. NIH 3T3 cells are a mouse embryonic fibroblast cell line commonly used in life science research. The original 3T3 cell line was established in 1962 by George Todaro and Howard Green at New York University School of Medicine. Here, the cells have been labelled so their progression through the cell cycle can be monitored. Cells that have duplicated their chromosomes and are about to divide are labelled yellow. Cells that are actively growing are labelled magenta. Cells detect external signals using special antennas called primary cilia, labelled in cyan. Image provided by Matthew Ford (Mort lab)

Gut Spheroid

A slice through a three-dimensional cell culture that mimics the lining of the intestine. Cells are grown in a gel that allows them to come together and form close bonds with each other. These clusters then organise themselves to form a ball with a hollow centre. They express different proteins on the outside vs the inside and it is therefore possible to visualise them using these different light tags. The blue is the nucleus of each cell, the yellow is the basement membrane making a barrier, and the red is the integral membrane matrix at the junctions throughout the structure. Image provided by Karen Wright (Wright lab).

Adaptive Immune Cells 

The immune system is broadly considered to have two main modes of action, the early innate response and the slower-acting adaptive response. The adaptive response enables the body to remember a pathogen. Two main adaptive immune cell types known as B and T lymphocytes are shown in this image. Lymphocytes are around 6 microns in diameter. The green label shows all immune cells. The red cells are B lymphocytes. These red B cells make antibodies. The blue label marks T lymphocytes, which are important in providing help to B cells. See if you can spot regions where the B and T cells are interacting! Image provided by Lucy Jackson-Jones (Jackson-Jones lab)

Disco gut

Five-day old adult C. elegans roundworm live gut microbiota revealed by super-resolved four-colour confocal fluorescence microscopy. The simplified experimental microbiota is composed of four microbes labelled in different colours, allowing for visualisation of their interactions inside the worm gut. The image was acquired at 400x optical magnification and zoomed in four times. Image provided by Jack Martin (Benedetto lab)

Alzheimer's disease

Image showing the build-up of a toxic protein called beta-amyloid (shown in blue) in an artery (outlined in green) in the brain of an individual with Alzheimer’s disease. As beta-amyloid accumulates, it starts to kill the cells that make up the blood vessels, like astrocytes (shown in pink), making the vessel wall fragile. This can lead to the vessel bursting and may cause a stroke. Image provided by Cheryl Hawkes (Hawkes lab)

Tumour Immunity

Immune cells in a colon cancer tumour. Our immune systems try to detect and destroy cancer cells, but sometimes immune cells can also ‘protect’ cancer from being eliminated. This image shows immune cells which have the capacity to destroy tumours (macrophages in green) clustered around tumour cells. Image provided by Rachael Rigby (Rigby lab)

Aged brain

Image showing the cells that make up an artery in an aged human brain. The green staining shows the outline of the blood vessel, which is surrounded by pink cells called astrocytes. These astrocytes are important for helping ensure that the brain gets a constant supply of blood. Image provided by Cheryl Hawkes (Hawkes lab)

Bone cancer cells

These cells were originally taken from an osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer. The blue structures are each individual cell's nucleus, where their genetic information is held. Each cell is surrounded by a membrane, shown in orange here. Cells make contact with each other and can even swap messages across their membranes. Image provided by Sarah Allinson (Allinson lab)

Breast cancer cell

This breast cancer cell is in the act of cell division, or mitosis. Here, the DNA is condensed into pink chromosomes. Yellow microtubule cables emanate from three “microtubule organising centres”, or “centrosomes”. Normal cells contain 2 centrosomes at mitosis, which allows them to split their chromosomes evenly into 2, for 2 new daughter cells. This cancer cell contains 3 centrosomes, so its chromosomes are being pulled in 3 directions. This can lead to daughter cells containing an incorrect number of chromosomes, which is a hallmark of cancer cells. Image provided by Andrew Fielding (Fielding lab)

Skin Cells adhering to their substrate

Fibroblasts are cells that create and maintain the extracellular matrix (ECM) of connective tissues, providing structural support for organs and tissues. NIH 3T3 cells are a mouse embryonic fibroblast cell line commonly used in life science research. The original 3T3 cell line was established in 1962 by George Todaro and Howard Green at New York University School of Medicine. Fibroblasts form connections with their surroundings, spreading across surfaces. These cells have been labelled with green and red fluorescent proteins to reveal the full extent of their interaction with the underlying substrate. Image provided by Olivia Harrison (Mort lab)

Skin Cells Dividing

Fibroblasts are cells that create and maintain the extracellular matrix (ECM) of connective tissues, providing structural support for organs and tissues. NIH 3T3 cells are a mouse embryonic fibroblast cell line commonly used in life science research. The original 3T3 cell line was established in 1962 by George Todaro and Howard Green at New York University School of Medicine. Here, the cells have been labelled so their progression through the cell cycle can be monitored. Cells actively duplicating their chromosomes are labelled green, those about to divide are labelled yellow, and actively growing cells are labelled magenta. Quiescent cells, which have exited the cell cycle and will no longer divide, are labelled white. Image provided by Tiernan Briggs (Mort lab).

Dividing Skin Cells

Skin Cells Dividing. “Fibroblasts are cells that create and maintain the extracellular matrix (ECM) of connective tissues, providing structural support for organs and tissues. NIH 3T3 cells are a mouse embryonic fibroblast cell line commonly used in life science research. The original 3T3 cell line was established in 1962 by George Todaro and Howard Green at New York University School of Medicine. The NIH 3T3 cell line is heterogeneous, likely composed of different fibroblast subtypes. This heterogeneity is reflected in the many differently coloured hues in this image, as the cells pass through their cell cycles. Image provided by Stephanie Wright (Mort lab).

Macrophages

Macrophages are the ‘big-eaters’ of the immune system, these innate immune cells are able to move around the body and engulf pathogens such as bacteria. Macrophages are also important in development and ageing as they are important for removing old cells. In this image, the nucleus of the macrophage is in blue and the outer membrane of the cell is shown in green. Macrophages are around 15-25 microns in diameter. A micron is equal to one millionth of a meter. Image provided by Lucy Jackson-Jones (Jackson-Jones lab).

Fatty Apron

The omentum is an apron of fat that is present within the abdomen. It contains small clusters of immune cells that gather between the fat cells. The fat cells called adipocytes are green in this image. The omentum is important for preventing the spread of contaminants such as bacteria from entering the bloodstream. In this image, adaptive immune cells are labelled red and vessels known as lymphatics are pink. Image provided by Lucy Jackson-Jones (Jackson-Jones lab)

Fat-Associated Lymphoid Clusters

The omentum is an apron of fat that is present within the abdomen. It contains small clusters of immune cells that gather between the fat cells. The green label shows immune cells. The red cells are B lymphocytes. The B lymphocytes make antibodies. The blue label marks T lymphocytes, which are important in providing help to B cells. The fat cells called adipocytes have not been labelled in this image, but can be seen as dark spaces in the image. Image provided by Lucy Jackson-Jones (Jackson-Jones lab)

Eye cancer

In these cells the genetic material, DNA, is stained in blue. In most cells this is gathered in one oval-shaped “nucleus”. Microtubules, which act as cables and tracks in the cell are shown in grey. The small “microtubule organising centres” or “centrosomes” are double stained in red and green and where these signals overlap, appears as small bright yellow dots near the centre of each cell. This is an image of about 80 cells from a rare eye cancer, called uveal melanoma. Image provided by Andrew Fielding (Fielding lab)

Cancer cells dividing

In these cells, grey microtubule “cables” are clearly visible. These have two main functions in the cell. In this image they are acting as “train tracks” along which cargoes are delivered to the parts of the cell they are needed. During cell division these individual “tracks” bundle together to form thick cables, that attach to chromosomes and pull them to each of the two newly forming daughter cells. Image provided by Andrew Fielding (Fielding lab)

Cancer cells after radiation treatment

These are eye cancer cells that have been treated with radiation. This has damaged the blue DNA. Instead of being arranged in one neat nucleus, this single cell has two large nuclei, 3 smaller ones and one tiny blue dot, probably representing a single, broken chromosome. This severe DNA damage is the aim of radiotherapy and will make it difficult, perhaps impossible, for this cancer cell to continue to grow. Image provided by Andrew Fielding (Fielding lab)

Centrosomes

In these cells the genetic material, DNA, is stained in blue. The small “microtubule organising centres” or “centrosomes” are double stained in red and green and where these signals overlap, appears as small bright yellow dots. Nearly all normal cells will only ever contain one or two centrosomes, but many of these cancer cells contain more than two centrosomes. Image provided by Andrew Fielding (Fielding lab)

Skin Cells and Immune Cells meet

In the mouse tail and in human skin, a population of melanocytes resides in the basal layer, producing pigment that provides colour to the skin and hair. Another important population of cells, called macrophages, are immune cells that maintain skin homeostasis and integrity. Macrophages clear pathogens and cell debris, and secrete cytokines and growth factors to stimulate the proliferation of cells that help repair wounds. In this image, macrophages are labelled yellow, while melanocytes are labelled cyan and magenta. Image provided by Emma Wilkinson (Mort lab)

Skin Cells and Immune Cells meet 2

In the mouse tail and in human skin, melanocytes reside in the basal layer, producing pigment that gives colour to skin and hair. Another population of cells, called macrophages, are immune cells that play a vital role in maintaining skin integrity. They remove pathogens and damaged cells and secrete signals that help repair wounds. Here, macrophages are labelled yellow, and melanocytes are labelled yellow and red. Image provided by Emma Wilkinson (Mort lab)

Immune cells in fat

Specialised fat tissues in the body have immune functions because they are home to clusters of immune cells. In this image adaptive immune cells are pink, and they can be seen in close proximity to fat cells labelled green. The nucleus of the cells are shown in blue. Image provided by Lucy Jackson-Jones (Jackson-Jones lab).

Leishmania infecting immune cells

Leishmania are single-cell organisms that can infect humans, pets and cattle. Leishmania parasites are transmitted via sandfly bites, and each species has a complex life cycle to survive within insect, animal and human hosts. During infection, Leishmania parasites can enter our immune cells, and multiply inside the cell, while remaining undetected. This image shows an immune cell with a nucleus (green and blue) and Leishmania parasites (red) at 630x magnification, taken with a confocal microscope. Image provided by Rebecca Barker (Bates and Unterholzner lab).

Brain development

During brain development, there are many rounds of proliferation to produce specific neurons. Here, a developing mouse brain has been labelled so that cell progression through the cell cycle can be monitored. Cells that have duplicated their chromosomes and are about to divide are labelled yellow, while actively growing cells are labelled magenta. Cells detect external signals using special antennas called primary cilia, labelled in cyan. The dominance of yellow cells in the tissue highlights the high level of active cell division occurring at this stage. Image provided by Matthew Ford (Mort lab).

Cancer cell mitosis

This is an eye cancer cell that has been treated with radiation. The cell is in the act of cell division. Here, the DNA is condensed into chromosomes, stained blue. In an untreated cell, the whole chromosomes would neatly align along the centre of the cell at this stage, ready to be split evenly into two new daughter cells. In this case, the radiation treatment has caused the chromosomes to break up into fragments, which are scattered across the cell, which will inhibit cell growth. Image provided by Andrew Fielding (Fielding lab).

Cancer cells interphase

These are eye cancer cells that have been treated with radiation. This has damaged the DNA, stained in yellow. Instead of being arranged in one neat nucleus, these cells have many, fragmented nuclei. “Centrosomes” are seen as small magenta and cyan dots. Normal cells have just one or two centrosomes, that reside near the centre of a cell. Here, the cells have several nuclei which are scattered across the cells in an unorganised fashion. Both the DNA damage and multiple, disorganised centrosomes, will make it harder for these radiation treated cells to proliferate. Image provided by Andrew Fielding (Fielding lab)

Alzheimer's Disease brain

Image showing the build-up of a toxic protein called beta-amyloid (shown in blue) in an artery (outlined in green) in the brain of an individual with Alzheimer’s disease. As beta-amyloid accumulates, it starts to kill the cells that make up the blood vessels, like astrocytes (shown in pink), making the vessel wall fragile. This can lead to the vessel bursting and may cause a stroke. Image provided by Cheryl Hawkes (Hawkes lab)