Guided STED nanoscopy enables super-resolution imaging of blood stage malaria parasites
- Author(s)
- Schloetel, JG; Heine, J; Cowman, AF; Pasternak, M;
- Details
- Publication Year 2019-03-18,Volume 9,Issue #1,Page 4674
- Journal Title
- Scientific Reports
- Publication Type
- Journal Article
- Abstract
- Malaria remains a major burden world-wide, but the disease-causing parasites from the genus Plasmodium are difficult to study in vitro. Owing to the small size of the parasites, subcellular imaging poses a major challenge and the use of super-resolution techniques has been hindered by the parasites' sensitivity to light. This is particularly apparent during the blood-stage of the Plasmodium life cycle, which presents an important target for drug research. The iron-rich food vacuole of the parasite undergoes disintegration when illuminated with high-power lasers such as those required for high resolution in Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) microscopy. This causes major damage to the sample precluding the use of this super-resolution technique. Here we present guided STED, a novel adaptive illumination (AI) STED approach, which takes advantage of the highly-reflective nature of the iron deposit in the cell to identify the most light-sensitive parts of the sample. Specifically in these parts, the high-power STED laser is deactivated automatically to prevent local damage. Guided STED nanoscopy finally allows super-resolution imaging of the whole Plasmodium life cycle, enabling multicolour imaging of blood-stage malaria parasites with resolutions down to 35 nm without sample destruction.
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- Research Division(s)
- Infectious Diseases And Immune Defence
- PubMed ID
- 30886187
- Publisher's Version
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-40718-z
- Open Access at Publisher's Site
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-40718-z- Terms of Use/Rights Notice
- Refer to copyright notice on published article.
Creation Date: 2019-03-27 08:18:49
Last Modified: 2019-04-01 09:19:35