Case Study: Seattle Children’s Hospital gains new insights into RSV-driven immune response with Molecular Devices ImageXpress Pico system

Seattle Children’s Hospital reveals RSV inflammatory insights over 48 hours with Molecular Devices

Researchers at Seattle Children’s Hospital, in collaboration with Seattle Children’s Research Institute, faced the challenge of understanding the inflammatory response to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Specifically, they needed to study the binding of mast cells to the extracellular matrix of infected lung cells, which required high-quality live and fixed-cell imaging. Traditional microscopy methods were inefficient, creating a need for a more advanced system.

Molecular Devices provided its ImageXpress Pico Automated Cell Imaging System, enabling high-resolution imaging and analysis in multi-well plates, which significantly reduced sample handling time. Using this solution, the team became the first to demonstrate that an RSV-infected, hyaluronan-enriched extracellular matrix promotes mast cell adhesion and a proinflammatory environment. These findings provide crucial insights for potential therapeutic interventions against RSV and other respiratory viruses.

Seattle Children’s Hospital