Featured Publications
An open-access volume electron microscopy atlas of whole cells and tissues
Xu CS, Pang S, Shtengel G, Müller A, Ritter AT, Hoffman HK, Takemura SY, Lu Z, Pasolli HA, Iyer N, Chung J, Bennett D, Weigel AV, Freeman M, van Engelenburg SB, Walther TC, Farese RV, Lippincott-Schwartz J, Mellman I, Solimena M, Hess HF. An open-access volume electron microscopy atlas of whole cells and tissues. Nature 2021, 599: 147-151. PMID: 34616045, PMCID: PMC9004664, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03992-4.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH KeywordsAnimalsCell LineCells, CulturedDatasets as TopicDrosophila melanogasterFemaleGolgi ApparatusHumansInformation DisseminationInterphaseIslets of LangerhansMaleMiceMicroscopy, Electron, ScanningMicrotubulesNeurogliaNeuronsOpen Access PublishingOrganellesOvarian NeoplasmsRibosomesSynaptic VesiclesT-Lymphocytes, CytotoxicConceptsDrosophila neural tissueWhole cellsThin-section electron microscopyVolume electron microscopyCellular architectureMouse pancreatic isletsCancer cellsEM tomographyCellular structureCellsCellular samplesNeural tissuePancreatic isletsEnhanced signal detectionAtlasBeam-scanning electron microscopyTissueElectron microscopyOpen access dataBiologyImmune cellsSubsequent analysisSEM scanningMicroscopyCorrelative three-dimensional super-resolution and block-face electron microscopy of whole vitreously frozen cells
Hoffman DP, Shtengel G, Xu CS, Campbell KR, Freeman M, Wang L, Milkie DE, Pasolli HA, Iyer N, Bogovic JA, Stabley DR, Shirinifard A, Pang S, Peale D, Schaefer K, Pomp W, Chang CL, Lippincott-Schwartz J, Kirchhausen T, Solecki DJ, Betzig E, Hess HF. Correlative three-dimensional super-resolution and block-face electron microscopy of whole vitreously frozen cells. Science 2020, 367 PMID: 31949053, PMCID: PMC7339343, DOI: 10.1126/science.aaz5357.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsCorrelative super-resolution fluorescenceEndoplasmic reticulum-associated proteinSuper-resolution fluorescenceChromatin domainsMammalian cellsBlock-face electron microscopyDistinct proteinsTranscriptional activityBiochemical needsSpatial compartmentalizationIntranuclear vesiclesUltrastructural variabilityFrozen cellsWhole cellsFluorescence retentionCultured neuronsProteinCellsElectron microscopyCompartmentalizationVesiclesUltrastructureAdhesionDomainFluorescenceESCRT-mediated membrane repair protects tumor-derived cells against T cell attack
Ritter AT, Shtengel G, Xu CS, Weigel A, Hoffman DP, Freeman M, Iyer N, Alivodej N, Ackerman D, Voskoboinik I, Trapani J, Hess HF, Mellman I. ESCRT-mediated membrane repair protects tumor-derived cells against T cell attack. Science 2022, 376: 377-382. PMID: 35446649, DOI: 10.1126/science.abl3855.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsESCRT machineryEndosomal Sorting ComplexCancer-derived cellsESCRT proteinsTarget cellsTumor-derived cellsPlasma membranePerforin poresTransport proteinsMembrane woundsMembrane repairRelease of perforinMachineryCytosolProteinCellsCytolytic attackCytotoxic T lymphocytesESCRTTumor cellsPerforin releaseGranzymesRepairApoptosisCell attackMotion of VAPB molecules reveals ER–mitochondria contact site subdomains
Obara C, Nixon-Abell J, Moore A, Riccio F, Hoffman D, Shtengel G, Xu C, Schaefer K, Pasolli H, Masson J, Hess H, Calderon C, Blackstone C, Lippincott-Schwartz J. Motion of VAPB molecules reveals ER–mitochondria contact site subdomains. Nature 2024, 626: 169-176. PMID: 38267577, PMCID: PMC10830423, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06956-y.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsContact sitesExchange of signaling moleculesInterorganelle communicationOrganelle tetheringEukaryotic cellsSingle-molecule imagingCellular physiologyThree-dimensional electron microscopyMembrane curvatureSignaling moleculesExchange of moleculesDynamic subdomainsNanoscale organizationProtein BMetabolic needsSubdomainsCellsSitesMutationsMoleculesRemodelingSites1,2HomeostasisCommunication hubRegulation3D FIB-SEM reconstruction of microtubule–organelle interaction in whole primary mouse β cells
Müller A, Schmidt D, Xu CS, Pang S, D’Costa J, Kretschmar S, Münster C, Kurth T, Jug F, Weigert M, Hess HF, Solimena M. 3D FIB-SEM reconstruction of microtubule–organelle interaction in whole primary mouse β cells. Journal Of Cell Biology 2020, 220: e202010039. PMID: 33326005, PMCID: PMC7748794, DOI: 10.1083/jcb.202010039.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsInsulin secretory granulesΒ-cellsSecretory granulesPrimary mammalian cellsFirst 3D reconstructionPrimary mouse β-cellsMouse β-cellsMammalian cellsMicrotubule organizationPlasma membraneIntracellular traffickingIslet β-cellsMicrotubule networkMicrotubulesUnprecedented resolutionCell constituentsMicrotubule numberCell functionGolgi apparatiCentriolesCellsEndocrine cellsGlucose stimulationEndomembranesGranules
2024
Structure, interaction and nervous connectivity of beta cell primary cilia
Müller A, Klena N, Pang S, Garcia L, Topcheva O, Aurrecoechea Duran S, Sulaymankhil D, Seliskar M, Mziaut H, Schöniger E, Friedland D, Kipke N, Kretschmar S, Münster C, Weitz J, Distler M, Kurth T, Schmidt D, Hess H, Xu C, Pigino G, Solimena M. Structure, interaction and nervous connectivity of beta cell primary cilia. Nature Communications 2024, 15: 9168. PMID: 39448638, PMCID: PMC11502866, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-53348-5.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPrimary ciliaCell's primary ciliumNon-islet cellsPancreatic beta cellsCiliary pocketSensory organellesAxonemal organizationMotility componentsExtrinsic signalsStructural basisBeta cellsCiliaCell typesExpansion microscopyParacrine signalingIslet innervationCellsIsletsBetaAxonemeOrganellesSignalThree-dimensional reconstructionInteraction
2023
Multiscale head anatomy of Megaphragma (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae)
Desyatirkina I, Makarova A, Pang S, Xu C, Hess H, Polilov A. Multiscale head anatomy of Megaphragma (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae). Arthropod Structure & Development 2023, 76: 101299. PMID: 37666087, DOI: 10.1016/j.asd.2023.101299.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsThree-dimensional electron microscopyParasitoid waspsLarge insectsEvolutionary benefitsTracheal systemWhole insectsMorphological workSubcellular structuresSubcellular levelInsectsSpeciesStomatogastric nervous systemMegaphragmaNeuron nucleiNucleated cellsWaspsGenusSet of musclesNervous systemOrgan systemsMicroinsectsComplexity of organizationsStructural planUltrastructureCells
2022
The 3D ultrastructure of the chordotonal organs in the antenna of a microwasp remains complex although simplified
Diakova A, Makarova A, Pang S, Xu C, Hess H, Polilov A. The 3D ultrastructure of the chordotonal organs in the antenna of a microwasp remains complex although simplified. Scientific Reports 2022, 12: 20172. PMID: 36424494, PMCID: PMC9691716, DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-24390-4.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2020
Chromatin arranges in chains of mesoscale domains with nanoscale functional topography independent of cohesin
Miron E, Oldenkamp R, Brown JM, Pinto DMS, Xu CS, Faria AR, Shaban HA, Rhodes JDP, Innocent C, de Ornellas S, Hess HF, Buckle V, Schermelleh L. Chromatin arranges in chains of mesoscale domains with nanoscale functional topography independent of cohesin. Science Advances 2020, 6: eaba8811. PMID: 32967822, PMCID: PMC7531892, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aba8811.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchChromatin domainsThree-dimensional chromatin organizationFunctional nuclear organizationMammalian genome functionActive histone modificationsSingle-cell levelInterchromatin compartmentGenome functionChromatin organizationGenome organizationRepressive modificationsHistone modificationsNuclear organizationEuchromatic regionsSomatic cellsCohesinChromatinFunctional modulesKey roleNucleosomesDomainRNACompartmentsModificationCells
2015
Synaptic circuits and their variations within different columns in the visual system of Drosophila
Takemura SY, Xu CS, Lu Z, Rivlin PK, Parag T, Olbris DJ, Plaza S, Zhao T, Katz WT, Umayam L, Weaver C, Hess HF, Horne JA, Nunez-Iglesias J, Aniceto R, Chang LA, Lauchie S, Nasca A, Ogundeyi O, Sigmund C, Takemura S, Tran J, Langille C, Le Lacheur K, McLin S, Shinomiya A, Chklovskii DB, Meinertzhagen IA, Scheffer LK. Synaptic circuits and their variations within different columns in the visual system of Drosophila. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2015, 112: 13711-13716. PMID: 26483464, PMCID: PMC4640747, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1509820112.Peer-Reviewed Original Research