Research Techniques Made Simple: Use of Imaging Mass Cytometry for Dermatological Research and Clinical Applications
Recommended Citation
Veenstra J, Dimitrion P, Yao Y, Zhou L, Ozog D, and Mi QS. Research Techniques Made Simple: Use of Imaging Mass Cytometry for Dermatological Research and Clinical Applications. J Invest Dermatol 2021; 141(4):705-712.e701.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
4-1-2021
Publication Title
The Journal of investigative dermatology
Abstract
Traditional immunohistochemistry (IHC) is inherently limited by its ability to analyze only several markers within a histological tissue section at a given time, which hinders in-depth characterization and phenotyping of tissues. Imaging mass cytometry (IMC), which combines IHC using metal-labeled antibodies with laser ablation and detection using mass cytometry by time-of-flight, overcomes this limitation with the capability to simultaneously analyze up to 40 protein markers to generate high-dimensional images from a single tissue section. IMC analysis preserves tissue architecture and spatial cellular relationships that would otherwise be lost or significantly altered in applications requiring tissue dissociation, such as flow cytometry or single-cell RNA sequencing. Resulting high-dimensional histological images permit spatially conserved analysis to identify unique cell populations, cellular interactions and avoidances, and insight into activation and behavioral status based on tissue location. IMC can be performed on both frozen and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue, allowing for previously banked samples to be analyzed and correlated with known clinical outcomes. Expectedly, IMC will change the landscape of investigative pathology, particularly when used in coordination with multiomic platforms to combine transcriptomic and proteomic data at a single-cell resolution. Here, we aim to highlight the potential utility of IMC within dermatologic research and clinical applications.
PubMed ID
33752807
Volume
141
Issue
4
First Page
705
Last Page
712