Laser-based microscopic approaches: Application to cell signaling in environmental lung disease

Cell-imaging approaches using new laser-based technologies have a wide appl icability to the fields of pathology and cell biology. Here, we present the application of several of these techniques, including confocal scanning la ser microscopy (CSLM), laser scanning cytometry (LSC), and laser capture mi crodissection (LCM), to studies of cell signaling by environmental agents i n lung disease. Using both cells in culture and lung tissue, we show that t hese technologies are powerful tools for understanding signal transduction cascades elicited by toxic agents, such as oxidants and asbestos fibers, an d their relationship to the development of cell injury and proliferation, r esponses leading to lung disease and/or repair.