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REVIEW article
Front. Cell Dev. Biol.
Sec. Signaling
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcell.2025.1584858
This article is part of the Research TopicSystems Biology: Encoding Cell Signaling with Quantitative Molecular Tools and ModelsView all 3 articles
Imaging methods to monitor and quantify cell differentiation
Provisionally accepted- Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, United States
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The transition of a cell from a stem to a differentiated state involves an interrelated and complex series of events. These events include dynamic changes in cellular nucleic acid and protein content that are mediated by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors which ultimately lead to differentiation into specific lineage. Quantifying the parameters associated with differentiation and their changes under different conditions would not only allow for a better understanding of this process but also would enable the development of approaches that control differentiation. Here, we describe processes associated with the differentiation of two types of cultured cells, neurons and fibroblasts, and the tools to follow changes in real time. Specifically, we discuss methods to the identify cell lineage, changes in morphology, shifts in specific mRNA and miRNA levels as well as the changes in protein localization, interactions and assemblies that accompany differentiation.
Keywords: Fluorescence Imaging, Neuronal Cells, Fibroblasts, differentiation, RNA imaging
Received: 27 Feb 2025; Accepted: 17 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Cheah, Chu, Schmidt and Scarlata. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Suzanne Scarlata, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, United States
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