CQ1 User Meeting - Talks

The brain represents a unique tissue environment with highly specialised brain-specific cells, including astrocytes and microglia, which perform important physiological functions such as maintaining the blood-brain barrier and immune surveillance. Tumour cell invasion disrupts cellular homeostasis and leads to accumulation of brain-specific cells in metastatic lesions and recruitment of immune and inflammatory cells from the periphery. It is known that paracrine circuits between tumour cells and tumour-associated stromal cells critically influence disease progression and response to therapy. However, our understanding of how brain metastatic cells from different primary tumours (melanoma, breast and lung cancer) activate and use stromal cells to support the rate-limiting steps of brain metastasis is currently limited. In this talk, Dr Lisa Sevenich describes new findings in the field of tumour-stroma interaction in brain metastases. She uses the Yokogawa CQ1 confocal microscope to microscope the 3D structures of the brain at high speed. This microscope also allows the microscopy of time-dependent, dynamic cell processes in which, for example, the microglia cells are observed in their movements and localisations.