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Accurate measurement of cellular autofluorescence is critical for imaging of host-pathogen interactions

Cellular autofluorescence, though ubiquitous when imaging cells and tissues, is often assumed to be small in comparison to the signal of interest. Uniform estimates of autofluorescence intensity obtained from separate control specimens are commonly employed to correct for autofluorescence. While these may be sufficient for high signal-to-background applications, improvements in detector and probe technologies and introduction of spectral imaging microscopes have increased the sensitivity of fluorescence imaging methods, exposing the possibility of effectively probing the low signal-to-background regime. With spectral imaging, reliable monitoring of signals near or even below the noise levels of the microscope is possible if autofluorescence and background signals can be accurately compensated for. We demonstrate the importance of accurate autofluorescence determination and utility of spectral imaging and multivariate analysis methods using a case study focusing on fluorescence confocal spectral imaging of host-pathogen interactions. In this application fluorescent proteins are produced when bacteria invade host cells. Unfortunately the analyte signal is spectrally overlapped and typically weaker than the cellular autofluorescence. In addition to discussing the advantages of spectral imaging for following pathogen invasion, we present the spectral properties of mouse macrophage autofluorescence. The imaging and analysis methods developed are widely applicable to cell and tissue imaging.