Time-lapse movies of leukocytes moving towards an injury.
Every time you injure yourself, leukocytes or white blood cells are recruited to the site of injury to protect you from infections. Because most animals are opaque and blood cells are small, leukocyte movement is difficult or impossible to see. Zebrafish embryos are translucent so cellular movements can easily imaged opening up a new world to cinematographers and biologists.
In the top movie, leukocytes are marked by expression of the green fluorescent protein in a 22 hour old zebrafish embryo. These blood cells move towards an injury in the center of the image over an hour real-time.
In the second movie, a section of a three day zebrafish larvae is imaged over one hour real-time. Blood flow can be seen through the vein. Leukocytes emanate from the region of the blood vessel and move towards a small injury in the fin.
Every time you injure yourself, leukocytes or white blood cells are recruited to the site of injury to protect you from infections. Because most animals are opaque and blood cells are small, leukocyte movement is difficult or impossible to see. Zebrafish embryos are translucent so cellular movements can easily imaged opening up a new world to cinematographers and biologists.
In the top movie, leukocytes are marked by expression of the green fluorescent protein in a 22 hour old zebrafish embryo. These blood cells move towards an injury in the center of the image over an hour real-time.
In the second movie, a section of a three day zebrafish larvae is imaged over one hour real-time. Blood flow can be seen through the vein. Leukocytes emanate from the region of the blood vessel and move towards a small injury in the fin.
