Abstract B15: Computed tomography for quantitative imaging of live cancer cells with isotropic 3D spatial resolution

Quantitative 3D imaging of live single tumor cells enables direct insights into the intricacies of cellular machinery while offering new ways of assessing intercellular variability. Since its invention, X-ray computed tomography has been indispensable in the clinic for cancer diagnostic and prognostic purposes due to its quantitative manner of imaging owing to the isotropic 3D spatial resolution. Although its principles have recently begun to be implemented in the optical spectral range for single cell imaging, the applications have mainly been directed towards imaging fixed cells in absorption mode for studying an important hallmark of cancer - nuclear architecture. We present an approach that utilizes the concept of computed tomography for quantitative functional 3D imaging of live single cells. The method offers truly isotropic 3D spatial resolution and enables imaging of natural suspension cells, such as non-solid tumor or immune system cells, as opposed to cells attached to substrates, as is common to the majority of other imaging approaches. We report on technical characteristics of the method as well as experimental findings of a nuclear and mitochondrial dynamics study in human myelogenous leukemia and mouse macrophage cells as a validation. The absolute quantification capability of the method makes it a powerful tool in the field of oncology by enabling direct studies of cellular and nuclear architecture dynamics in the context of tumorigenesis and progression. Citation Format: Laimonas Kelbauskas, Rishabh M. Shetty, Bin Cao, Kuo-Chen Wang, Dean Smith, Hong Wang, Shih-Hui Chao, Brian Ashcroft, Margaret Kritzer, Honor Glenn, Erik Niemela, Roger H. Johnson, John Eriksson, Deirdre R. Meldrum. Computed tomography for quantitative imaging of live cancer cells with isotropic 3D spatial resolution. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Engineering and Physical Sciences in Oncology; 2016 Jun 25-28; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(2 Suppl):Abstract nr B15.