Customer Spotlight

Investigating How Epigenetic Changes Drive Cancer with the Revolve Microscope

Understanding Cancer at the Chromosomal Level

At the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, the Ganesan lab investigates how environmental stressors and epigenetic changes promote chromosome instability, contributing to the development of cancer. These epigenomic alterations modify chromatin accessibility and compaction, causing DNA damage and disrupting genome function and chromosome stability over time.

Led by Arun Kumar Ganesan, the team studies the impact of epigenetic and epitranscriptomic modifications on chromosome stability. Using Revolve, the lab captures high-quality images of cell cultures, metaphase chromosomes, and organoids for immunofluorescence experiments.

Uncovering How Toxins Drive Epigenetic Disruption

Environmental toxins, such as heavy metals, can disrupt epigenetic memory by altering histone modifications, DNA methylation, and gene expression. Yet the precise mechanism remains elusive.

To investigate, the Ganesan Lab uses the colon as a model system to study heavy metal toxicity and the mechanistic effects of epigenetic changes on chromosome stability.

The human-derived colon organoid immunofluorescent image on the left was captured using Revolve.

Visualizing Epigenetic Disruptions

The team studies genome integrity and chromosome segregation pathways using normal and transformed cell lines, as well as human-derived normal colon organoids.

Human colon organoids imaged on the Revolve to the right.

Revolve’s Role in the Lab’s Workflow

Monitor cell growth & morphology Monitor the growth and morphology of cell cultures and organoids, tracking changes over time to assess how epigenetic disruptions affect cell behavior.
Fluorescent visualization of organoids & chromosomes Uses Revolve’s fluorescent channels to monitor target gene expression via immunofluorescent staining in cell cultures and organoids. They image interphase cells and metaphase chromosome spreads after DNA-FISH to identify specific chromosomes for translocations or protein co-localization studies.
Multi-channel imaging with Z-Stack Using z-stack, the team visualizes multiple targets and their locations within cells across multiple focal planes, for a complete picture of chromosomal structure.
Intuitive software & built-in annotation tools Brightfield imaging with Revolve’s built-in annotation tools enables the lab to perform quick cell counts, size comparisons, and stain cells, such as for a senescence assay using β-gal or a viability assay using trypan blue.

The Ganesan Lab’s Experience

“Our lab has been using the Echo Revolve microscope regularly, and it has truly transformed how we approach cell imaging and transfection experiments…. Whether we’re preparing slides or working with multi-well plates, the flexibility and efficiency it offers are unmatched. We routinely use it to monitor GFP and RFP transfections, and the clarity and reliability of the imaging have been excellent.

Overall, Echo Revolve has become an essential tool in our lab, and we highly recommend it to any research group looking for a powerful yet easy-to-use microscopy solution.”

Arun Kumar Ganesan, Ph.D.

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