Stimulated emission depletion (STED) nanoscopy has become one of the most used nanoscopy techniques over the last decade. However, most recordings are done in specimen regions no larger than 10–30  ×  10–30 μm² due to aberrations, instability and manual mechanical stages. Here, we demonstrate automated 2D and 3D STED nanoscopy of extended sample regions up to 0.5  ×  0.5 mm² by using a scanning system that maintains stationary beams in the back focal plane. The setup allows up to 80–100  ×  80–100 μm² field of view (FOV) with uniform spatial resolution, a mechanical stage allowing sequential tiling to record larger sample areas, and a feedback system keeping the sample in focus at all times. Taken together, this allows automated recording of theoretically unlimited-sized sample areas and volumes, without compromising the achievable spatial resolution and image quality.

The observation of protein organization during cellular signalling calls for imaging methods with increased spatial and temporal resolution. STED nanoscopy can access dynamics of nanoscale structures in living cells. However, the available number of recordable frames is often limited by photo-bleaching. Here, we present an automated method, event-triggered STED, which instantly (< 40 ms) images synaptic proteins with high spatial and temporal resolution (~30 nm, 2.5 Hz) in small regions upon and at the site of local calcium sensing.

The constant development of novel microscopy methods with an increased number of dedicated hardware devices poses significant challenges to software development. On the onehand, software should control complex instruments, provide flexibility to adapt between different microscope modalities, and be open and resilient to modification and extension byusers and developers. On the other hand, the community needs software that can satisfy therequirements of the users, such as a user-friendly interface and robustness of the code. In this context, we present ImSwitch, based on the model-view-presenter (MVP) design pattern (Potel, 1996), with an architecture that uses polymorphism to provide a generalized solutionto microscope control. Consequently, ImSwitch makes it possible to adapt between different modalities and aims at satisfying the needs of both users and developers. We have alsoincluded a scripting module for microscope automation applications and a structure to efficiently share data between different modules, such as hardware control and image processing. Currently, ImSwitch provides support for light microscopy techniques but could be extendedto other microscopy modalities requiring multiple hardware synchronization. 

Bright monomeric near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent proteins (FPs) are in high demand as protein tags for multicolor microscopy and in vivo imaging. Here we apply rational design to engineer a complete set of monomeric NIR FPs, which are the brightest genetically encoded NIR probes. We demonstrate that the enhanced miRFP series of NIR FPs, which combine high effective brightness in mammalian cells and monomeric state, perform well in both nanometer-scale imaging with diffraction unlimited stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy and centimeter-scale imaging in mice. In STED we achieve ~40 nm resolution in live cells. In living mice we detect ~105 fluorescent cells in deep tissues. Using spectrally distinct monomeric NIR FP variants, we perform two-color live-cell STED microscopy and two-color imaging in vivo. Having emission peaks from 670 nm to 720 nm, the next generation of miRFPs should become versatile NIR probes for multiplexed imaging across spatial scales in different modalities.

Programmed Death-1 (PD-1) is a coinhibitory receptor expressed on activated T cells that suppresses T-cell signaling and effector functions. It has been previously shown that binding to its ligand PD-L1 induces a spatial reorganization of PD-1 receptors into microclusters on the cell membrane. However, the roles of the spatial organization of PD-L1 on PD-1 clustering and T-cell signaling have not been elucidated. Here, we used DNA origami flat sheets to display PD-L1 ligands at defined nanoscale distances and investigated their ability to inhibit T-cell activation in vitro. We found that DNA origami flat sheets modified with CD3 and CD28 activating antibodies (FS-alpha-CD3-CD28) induced robust T-cell activation. Co-treatment with flat sheets presenting PD-L1 ligands separated by similar to 200 nm (FS-PD-L1-200), but not 13 nm (FS-PD-L1-13) or 40 nm (FS-PD-L1-40), caused an inhibition of T-cell signaling, which increased with increasing molar ratio of FS-PD-L1-200 to FS-alpha-CD3-CD28. Furthermore, FS-PD-L1-200 induced the formation of smaller PD-1 nanoclusters and caused a larger reduction in IL-2 expression compared to FS-PD-L1-13. Together, these findings suggest that the spatial organization of PD-L1 determines its ability to regulate T-cell signaling and may guide the development of future nanomedicine-based immunomodulatory therapies.

The spatial location of cerebrospinal fluid contacting (CSF-c) neurons enables important regulatory homeostatic functions regarding pH and motion control. Their intricate organization, facing the central canal and extending across the spinal cord, in relation to specific subtypes is poorly understood. This calls for imaging methods with a high spatial resolution (5-10 nm) to resolve the synaptic and ciliary compartments of each individual cell to elucidate their signalling pathways and enough throughput to dissect the cellular organization. Here, light-sheet and expansion microscopy resolved the persistent ventral and lateral organization of dopamine and somatostatin CSF-c neuronal types.

The number of somatostatin-containing dense core vesicles, resolved by STED microscopy, was shown to be markedly reduced upon each exposure to alkaline or acidic pH inhibiting any movement as part of a homeostatic response. Their cilia symmetry was unravelled by ExSTED as sensory in contrast with the motile one found in the dopaminergic ph insensitive neurons. This novel experimental workflow elucidates the functional role of CSF-c neuron subtypes in situ paving the way for further spatial and functional cell type classification.

All living cells must cope with protein aggregation, which occurs as a result of experiencing stress. In previously studied bacteria, aggregated protein is collected at the cell poles and is retained throughout consecutive cell divisions only in old pole-inheriting daughter cells, resulting in aggregation-free progeny within a few generations. In this study, we describe the in vivo kinetics of aggregate formation and elimination following heat and antibiotic stress in the asymmetrically dividing bacterium Caulobacter crescentus. Unexpectedly, in this bacterium, protein aggregates form as multiple distributed foci located throughout the cell volume. Time-lapse microscopy revealed that under moderate stress, the majority of these protein aggregates are short-lived and rapidly dissolved by the major chaperone DnaK and the disaggregase ClpB. Severe stress or genetic perturbation of the protein quality control machinery induces the formation of long-lived aggregates. Importantly, the majority of persistent aggregates neither collect at the cell poles nor are they partitioned to only one daughter cell type. Instead, we show that aggregates are distributed to both daughter cells in the same ratio at each division, which is driven by the continuous elongation of the growing mother cell. Therefore, our study has revealed a new pattern of protein aggregate inheritance in bacteria.

The diffraction limit is no longer a concept that stands as a true constant in imaging, with fluorescence switching–based methods having made the breakthrough to circumvent this limit. Multiple ingenious solutions have been presented over the last decades and continue to be explored. The techniques used today have undergone constant development both conceptually and technically, which has enabled an increased number of biological studies at the molecular scale. Here we review recent developments to stimulated emission depletion microscopy, reversible saturable optical fluorescence transitions microscopy, single-molecule localization microscopy, and MINFLUX and mention key applications of these methods. Finally, we present our view on what the future holds for super-resolution imaging, especially in terms of even more challenging live-cell imaging in different biological model systems.