Human Lung Tissue

The sample of human lung tissue illustrated in the digital image above was labeled with wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) conjugated to Texas Red-X. WGA, which selectively binds to N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylneuraminic (sialic acid) residues, is well suited for staining the Golgi complex in mammalian cells. The tissue sample was also labeled with Alexa Fluor 488 conjugated to phalloidin (targeting F-actin) and DAPI (targeting DNA in cell nuclei). Images were recorded in grayscale with a 12-bit digital camera coupled to either a Nikon E-600 or Eclipse 80i microscope equipped with bandpass emission fluorescence filter optical blocks. During the processing stage, individual image channels were pseudocolored with RGB values corresponding to each of the fluorophore emission spectral profiles.