Tissue-culture light sheet fluorescence microscopy (TC-LSFM) allows long-term imaging of three-dimensional cell cultures under controlled conditions.

Fluorescence long-term imaging of cellular processes in three-dimensional cultures requires the control of media supply, temperature, and pH, as well as minimal photodamage. We describe a system based on a light sheet fluorescence microscope (LSFM), which is optimized for long-term, multi-position imaging of three-dimensional in-gel cell cultures. The system integrates a stable culture condition control system in the optical path of the light-sheet microscope. A further essential element is a biocompatible agarose container suitable for the LSFM, in which any cell type can be cultured in different gel matrices. The TC-LSFM allows studying any in vitro cultured cell type reacting to, dividing in, or migrating through a three-dimensional extracellular matrix (ECM) gel. For this reason we called it "tissue culture-LSFM" (TC-LSFM). The TC-LSFM system allows fast imaging at multiple locations within a millimeter-sized ECM gel. This increases the number of analyzed events and allows testing population effects. As an example, we show the maturation of a cyst of MDCK (canine kidney epithelial) cells over a period of three days. Moreover, we imaged, tracked, and analyzed MDCK cells during the first five days of cell aggregate formation and discovered a remarkable heterogeneity in cell cycle lengths and an interesting cell death pattern. Thus, TC-LSFM allows performing new long-term assays assessing cellular behavior in three-dimensional ECM-gel cultures. For example migration, invasion or differentiation in epithelial cell systems, stem cells, as well as cancer cells can be investigated.