On March 12th, a research paper titled Isotropic super-resolution light-sheet microscopy of dynamic intracellular structures at subsecond timescales was published in Nature Methods by Prof. Fei Peng’s and Prof. Zhang Yu-Hui’s teams at the Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics (WNLO) and the School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST). This paper reports a fastest and highest resolution 3D super-resolution imaging system combined with a deep learning network, which provides a powerful new tool for rapid, three-dimensional and long-term observation of intracellular structures interaction of living cells.

Fig. 1 | Principle and performance of IDDR–SPIM.

Long-term visualization of the dynamic interactions between intracellular structures throughout the three-dimensional space of whole live cells is essential to better understand their functions, but this task remains challenging due to the limitations of existing three-dimensional fluorescence microscopy techniques, such as an insufficient axial resolution, low volumetric imaging rate and photobleaching. Here, we present the combination of a progressive deep-learning super-resolution strategy with a double-ring-modulated selective plane illumination microscopy design capable of visualizing the dynamics of intracellular structures in live cells for hours at an isotropic spatial resolution of roughly 100 nm in three dimensions at speeds up to roughly 17 Hz. Using this approach, we reveal the complex spatial relationships and interactions between endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria throughout live cells, providing new insights into ER-mediated mitochondrial division. We also examined the motion of Drp1 oligomers involved in mitochondrial fission and revealed the dynamic interactions between Drp1 and mitochondria in three dimensions.

Fig. 2 | 5D SR imaging revealing the complex spatial relationships and the dynamic interactions between ER (red or magenta) and mitochondria (green) in live cells.

Professor Fei Peng and Zhang Yu-Hui are the co-corresponding authors of this paper. Zhao Yuxuan, Zhang Meng, Zhang Wenting and Zhou Yao are the co-first authors of the paper. This work was supported by the following grants: National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Key R&D program of China, Science Fund for Creative Research Group of China, Innovation Fund of WNLO, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Academic Frontier Youth Team Project to X. Wang from HUST and Director Fund of WNLO.

Paper link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41592-022-01395-5

Source: Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics (WNLO)

Edited by: Scott, Jiang Jing