TELETHON CENTER FOR CELL IMAGING

In the last years, two decisive factors have greatly improved optical microscopy and allowed to follow biological processes in living cells: the technological advancements of the instrumentation (with the development of confocal microscopes and of mathematical methods for image analysis) and the discovery of the "green fluorescent protein" (GFP), a protein derived from a jellyfish that can be utilized as a highly efficient intracellular probe in fluorescence microscopy. It is thus now possible to follow directly in intact, living cells cellular events of major biomedical relevance, such as the movement of proteins (including their mutated variants in genetic diseases) or the changes in biological parameters. The acquisition of high quality images needs a complex and expensive instrumentation, as well as a specific scientific expertise. For this reason, we propose to create a Telethon Center for Cellular Imaging which would offer the following services: 1) Analyze biological samples provided by Telethon scientists 2) Host Telethon scientists willing to carry out complex experiments of live cells imaging 3) Organize and host microscopy courses 4) Organize scientific events in which the public can visit the research laboratory and appreciate the new opportunities for the study of genetic diseases provided by advanced microscopy approaches.