Ep. 67: “Vascular and Immune Aging” Featuring Dr. Anjali Kusumbe
Nov 21, 2023
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Dr. Anjali Kusumbe, Group Leader and Director of the Tissue Imaging Centre at Oxford University, discusses light sheet microscopy, aging immune systems, and the discovery of lymphatic vessels in bone.
Light sheet microscopy and tissue clearing techniques are valuable tools for studying the interactions between vascular and immune cells in various organs.
Aging impacts the vasculature and immune system, affecting immune cell behavior and overall health.
Vascular niches actively signal and interact with neighboring cells, influencing the function and behavior of immune cells and contributing to age-related changes in immune responses.
Deep dives
Using Light Sheet Microscopy and Tissue Clearing to Visualize Vascular Diversity
Dr. Anjali Kusumbe's lab utilizes light sheet microscopy, a technique that allows for imaging the entire tissue, along with tissue clearing to make organs transparent. By labeling the tissues with specific markers and antibodies, they can study the interactions between vascular and immune cells in various organs, including the skeletal system. They have also developed methods to clear and image the vasculature within bones, revealing surprising findings such as the existence of lymphatic vessels in bones and their role in hematopoietic cell regeneration.
Investigating Aging and Vascular Changes
Dr. Kusumbe's lab is interested in understanding how aging affects the vasculature and immune system. They have observed that as the vasculature ages, the density of the bone decreases, impacting the behavior of immune cells. By studying specific signaling pathways and molecules involved in these changes, they hope to uncover mechanisms that can boost the immune response in older individuals and address age-related diseases.
The Importance of Vascular Niches
Vascular niches play a critical role in supporting hematopoietic stem cells and influencing the behavior of immune cells. The vasculature is not simply a transportation network but actively signals and interacts with neighboring cells. Changes in the vasculature, such as loss of elasticity and altered signaling pathways, can affect the function and behavior of immune cells, leading to age-related changes in immune responses and overall health.
Light Sheet Microscopy and Tissue Clearing Techniques
The lab uses light sheet microscopy, which allows for rapid, high-resolution imaging of whole tissues by illuminating the tissue with thin sheets of light. Tissue clearing protocols, including decalcification and antigen retrieval steps, are used to make the tissues transparent and suitable for immunolabeling. These techniques have been successfully applied to study the vasculature, immune cells, and their interactions in various organs, including bones.
Future Directions
Dr. Kusumbe's lab is continuing to investigate the relationship between aging, vasculature, and immune cells, and they are exploring specific genetic models to elucidate the cause-effect relationship. They aim to identify key molecules and signaling pathways involved in vasculature-immune cell interactions, which could be targeted to enhance immune responses in older individuals.
Dr. Anjali Kusumbe is a Group Leader and Director of the Tissue Imaging Centre at Oxford University. Her lab studies vascular changes over time with the aim of treating diseases. She talks about light sheet microscopy techniques, the aging immune system, and finding lymphatic vessels in bone.
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