This image highlights the interaction between the immune system and infectious diseases.
Scavenger cells, called dendritic cells, routinely patrol the body looking for invading pathogens in order to rapidly alert the immune system. Visualised through a microscope, here we see one of these dendritic cells (labeled in red) ingesting a Leishmania parasite (seen in green). These Leishmania parasites represent a significant disease burden across the globe, causing chronic skin diseases and fatal liver infections, with around 2 million new infections and 100,000 deaths each year. From developing novel microscopes to understand how these parasites interact with the immune system, to testing new drug candidates on clinical isolates, researchers in SIPBS are part of the global effort to eradicate this disease.
Phagocytic dendritic cells were infected with Leishmania mexicana parasites expressing a green fluorescent protein. Twenty-four hours later, cells were labelled to reveal the cytoskeleton structure of the cells (red; Phalloidin-Texas Red) and counter-stained to show the nucleus (blue; DAPI). Cells were imaged using a Leica SP5 confocal microscope.
Posted by Strathclyde Alumni on 2011-10-12 09:12:20
Tagged: , immune , system , immune system , infectious , diseases , infectious diseases , Scavenger , cells , Scavenger cells , dendritic , dendritic cells , invading pathogens , pathogens , microscope , Leishmania , parasite , Leishmania parasite , SIPBS , Phagocytic dendritic cells , Leishmania mexicana parasites , fluorescent protein , cytoskeleton , Leica , SP5 , confocal , Leica SP5 confocal microscope , university , strathclyde , university of strathclyde , research , science