Label-Free Imaging of Lipid Storage Dynamics in <em>Caenorhabditis elegans</em> using Stimulated Raman Scattering Microscopy

Citations Over TimeTop 12% of 2021 papers

Abstract

Lipid metabolism is a fundamental physiological process necessary for cellular and organism health. Dysregulation of lipid metabolism often elicits obesity and many associated diseases including cardiovascular disorders, type II diabetes, and cancer. To advance the current understanding of lipid metabolic regulation, quantitative methods to precisely measure in vivo lipid storage levels in time and space have become increasingly important and useful. Traditional approaches to analyze lipid storage are semi-quantitative for microscopic assessment or lacking spatio-temporal information for biochemical measurement. Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy is a label-free chemical imaging technology that enables rapid and quantitative detection of lipids in live cells with a subcellular resolution. As the contrast is exploited from intrinsic molecular vibrations, SRS microscopy also permits four-dimensional tracking of lipids in live animals. In the last decade, SRS microscopy has been widely used for small molecule imaging in biomedical research and overcome the major limitations of conventional fluorescent staining and lipid extraction methods. In the laboratory, we have combined SRS microscopy with the genetic and biochemical tools available to the powerful model organism, Caenorhabditis elegans, to investigate the distribution and heterogeneity of lipid droplets across different cells and tissues and ultimately to discover novel conserved signaling pathways that modulate lipid metabolism. Here, we present the working principles and the detailed setup of the SRS microscope and provide methods for its use in quantifying lipid storage at distinct developmental timepoints of wild-type and insulin signaling deficient mutant C. elegans.

Related Papers

• → Working with Worms: Caenorhabditis elegans as a Model Organism(2019)111 cited
• → Caenorhabditis elegans as a Model Organism to Evaluate the Antioxidant Effects of Phytochemicals(2020)66 cited
• → Deceptively simple but simply deceptive – Caenorhabditis elegans lifespan studies: Considerations for aging and antioxidant effects(2009)114 cited
• → The intertwining between lead and ethanol in the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans(2022)4 cited
• → Why do more scientists use Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism to study human system?(2008)