An Intestinal Galaxy
This image of fat tissue and stem cells surrounding the intestine of a a mouse might be mistaken for a galaxy in outer space. But those white dots aren’t stars – they’re a kind of stem cells able to turn into a variety of white blood cells.
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DownloadAn Intestinal Galaxy
This image of fat tissue and stem cells surrounding the intestine of a a mouse might be mistaken for a galaxy in outer space. But those white dots aren’t stars – they’re a kind of stem cells able to turn into a variety of white blood cells.
What am I looking at?
This is a fluorescently labeled section of mesenteric adipose tissue taken from a mouse. The white/pink areas are myeloid hematopoietic cells (1). The blue/green areas are adipose (fat) cells in the surrounding tissue (2).
Biology in the background
Mesenteric adipose tissue is fat that surrounds the intestines in the abdomen of mammals. This tissue contains hematopoietic cells – a subset of stem cells that can turn into different kinds of blood cells. The specific type of hematopoietic cells seen here are myeloid hematopoietic cells, which can turn into a variety of white blood cells and platelets, including monocytes, macrophages, neutrophils, basophils, eosinophils, erythrocytes, and megakaryocytes. Most of these cells are involved in the innate immune system – the body’s first line of defense against pathogens, toxins, and microscopic debris.
Myeloid hematopoietic cells are about 5 micrometers across, or roughly 15 times smaller than the width of a human hair.
Technique
This image was created using confocal microscopy.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH