Patrick Van Der Smissen
Senior Investigator & PICT Core Facility Manager
Imaging Cells and Tissues - PICT
Patrick Van Der Smissen
Institut de Duve
Avenue Hippocrate, 75 - B1.75.05
1200 Bruxelles
The PICT core facility, managed by Dr Patrick Van Der Smissen, trains and provides the scientific community with fluorescence, confocal, multiphoton and super-resolution microscopy, as well as a wide range of sophisticated methods of vital confocal microscopy, immunolabeling and dynamics. It is also a source of collaborations and advices, providing users with the necessary expertise at all stages of the experiment, from sample preparation to analysis and interpretation of data. PICT also comprises Digital Histology Services, a facility offering full range services to analyse tissue sections, including sample processing, immunostaining with single or multiple visible or fluorescent dyes, acquisition of digital high-resolution images of entire tissue sections and computerized image analysis.
The core facility is supervised by Prof. Donatienne Tyteca and is run by Dr. Patrick Van Der Smissen for fluorescence microscopy services and Dr. Nicolas van Baren for digital histology services.
Equipment
ROUTINE MICROSCOPES
Wide range of specifications: from standard bright-field over dark-field to wide-field fluorescence microscopy
APPLICATIONS
Standard 3D views of large tissues samples or embryos
Analysis of samples that will then be visualized by high-resolution confocal microscopy
Vital imaging, time lapse, immunolabeling
STEREOMICROSCOPE DISCOVERY V12
Manual stereomicroscope
- with a large working field
- with motorized zoom facility
- equipped for 2 channel fluorescence (modules for GFP and Cy3/Rhod/RFP)
APPLICATIONS
- Standard 3D views of large tissue samples or embryos
- Station specially designed for dissections on stage
SPINNING DISK CONFOCAL (COSD)
High speed confocal microscope
Excitation: 4 laser lines (405, 488, 561, 635 nm)
Emission: 4 channels (460/80, 520/35, 617/73, 685/40 nm)
APPLICATIONS
- Routine 4 Channel fluorescence imaging
- Fast imaging of relatively thin samples with high magnification and resolution
- Live cell imaging
POINT SCANNER CONFOCAL AND MULTIPHOTON MICROSCOPY (LSM980)
Confocal, super-resolution and multiphoton microscope
Excitation: 4 laser lines (405 - 488 - 561 -635 nm) + multiphoton (680 – 1300 nm)
Emission: 32 channel spectral detector (4 nm) + 2 PMTs + Airyscan-2 detector for fast & super-resolution modes
Temperature and CO2 controlled chamber
APPLICATIONS
- Cell/tissue immunolabeling
- Live cell imaging
- Molecule dynamics (e.g. fluorescence recovery after photobleaching FRAP)
- Three-dimensional cell migration
- Confocal microscopy with spectral analysis
- Airyscan microscopy for super-resolution
- Airyscan microscopy for fast acquisition of large areas
- Multiphoton microscopy for fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM)
- Multiphoton microscopy for in vivo imaging (e.g. functional imaging of mouse kidney)
SLIDE SCANNING MICROSCOPES
These microscopes acquire high-resolution digital images from tissue sections mounted on microscope slides. Both white-light and multichannel fluorescent scanning is supported.
- 3DHistech Pannoramic Midi slide scanner: 12-slide capacity, 20x objective, Hg-arc lamp for fluorescence imaging allowing up to 4 channels.
- 3DHistech Pannoramic P250 Flash III slide scanner: 250-slide capacity, 20x and 40x objectives, 5-LED lamp for fluorescence imaging allowing up to 5 channels, high speed scanning in brightfield mode.
- 3DHistech Pannoramic Confocal slide scanner: 11-slide capacity, 20x and 40x (with water immersion) objectives, 7-LED lamp for fluorescence imaging allowing up to 5 channels, ability to scan whole tissue sections in confocal mode.
Imaging analysis stations
2 workstations for fluorescence microscopy:
LSM980-Off-line station: software for confocal, multiphoton and FLIM
Arivis station: Zen Blue and Arivis4 softwares
APPLICATIONS
Standard morphometry in X-Y plane: length, area, histograms
Morphometry in volumes
Manipulation of large Z-stacks
Fluorescent signals measurements
Extent of colocalization
FLIM data analysis
Interactively or by macros
2 workstations for Digital Histology
each is equipped with a powerful computer, a large 43” monitor, a touchscreen with stylet pen for manual annotations, and a professional software for digital image analysis and quantification (Indicalabs Halo v3.2).
Offered service
Training:
- Users are trained to use independently all microscopes
- 1 group session and at least 2 individual sessions
- based on the specific biological question
Pricing - Please contact the facility manager
- Stereomicroscope and routine microscopes:
- Spinning disk microscope (COSD)
- Airyscan with multiphoton microscope (LSM980)
Team
Academic supervisor
Digital Histology Manager
Variability of extracellular vesicle release during storage of red blood cell concentrates is associated with differential membrane alterations, including loss of cholesterol-enriched domains.
Ghodsi M, Cloos A-S, Mozaheb N, Van Der Smissen P, Henriet P, Pierreux CE, Cellier N, Mingeot-Leclercq M-P, Najdovski T, Tyteca D
Front Physiol (2023) 14: 1205493.
Splenectomy improves erythrocyte functionality in spherocytosis based on septin abundance, but not maturation defects.
Cloos A-S, Pollet H, Stommen A, Maja M, Lingurski M, Brichard B, Lambert C, Henriet P, Pierreux CE, Pyr dit Ruys S, Van Der Smissen P, Vikkula M, Gatto L, Martin M, Brouillard P, Vertommen D, Tyteca D
Blood Adv (2023) 7(17): 4705–4720.
Surface cholesterol-enriched domains specifically promote invasion of breast cancer cell lines by controlling invadopodia and extracellular matrix degradation.
Maja M, Mohammed D, Dumitru A-C, Verstraeten S, Lingurski M, Mingeot-Leclercq M-P, Alsteens D, Tyteca D
Cell Mol Life Sci (2022) 79:417.
Probing PIEZO1 Localization upon Activation Using High-Resolution Atomic Force and Confocal Microscopy.
Dumitru AC, Stommen A, Koehler M, Cloos A-S, Yang J, Leclercqz A, Tyteca D*, Alsteens D* (*equal contribution)
Nano Letters (2021) 21, 4950-4958
Contribution of plasma membrane lipid domains to red blood cell (re)shaping.
Léonard C, Conrard L, Guthmann M, Pollet H, Carquin M, Vermylen C, Gailly P, Van Der Smissen P, Mingeot-Leclercq M-P, Tyteca D
Sci Rep (2017) 7:4264
Avenue Hippocrate 75 - 1200 Brussels - BELGIUM
VAT : BE0423 837 837
Tel : +32 2 764 75 50