Lift-out cryo-FIBSEM and cryo-ET reveal the ultrastructural landscape of extracellular matrix.

ABSTRACT: The extracellular matrix (ECM) serves as a scaffold for cells and plays an essential role in regulating numerous cellular processes, including cell migration and proliferation. Due to limitations in specimen preparation for conventional room-temperature electron microscopy, we lack structural knowledge on how ECM components are secreted, remodeled, and interact with surrounding cells. We have developed a 3D-ECM platform compatible with sample thinning by cryo-focused ion beam milling, the lift-out extraction procedure, and cryo-electron tomography. Our workflow implements cell-derived matrices (CDMs) grown on EM grids, resulting in a versatile tool closely mimicking ECM environments. This allows us to visualize ECM for the first time in its hydrated, native context. Our data reveal an intr

SUBMITTER: Zens B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10955043 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature