Live-imaging of C. elegans is essential for the study of conserved cellular pathways (e.g. EGFR/Wnt signaling) and morphogenesis in vivo. However, the usefulness of live imaging as a research tool has been severely limited by the need to immobilize worms prior to and during imaging. Conventionally, immobilization is achieved by employing both physical and chemical interventions. These are known to significantly affect many physiological processes, and thus limit our understanding of dynamic developmental processes. Herein we present a novel, easy-to-use microfluidic platform for the long-term immobilization of viable, normally developing C. elegans, compatible with image acquisition at high resolution, thereby overcoming the limitations associated with conventional worm immobilization. The capabilities of the platform are demonstrated through the continuous assessment of anchor cell (AC) invasion and distal tip cell (DTC) migration in larval C. elegans and germ cell apoptosis in adult C. elegans in vivo for the first time.

中文翻译：

---

线虫 的长期固定化可以在体内进行高分辨率的发育研究†

秀丽隐杆线虫的实时成像对于研究体内保守细胞途径（例如EGFR / Wnt信号传导）和形态发生是必不可少的。但是，由于需要在成像之前和成像过程中固定蠕虫，因此实时成像作为研究工具的用途受到了严重限制。常规地，通过采用物理和化学干预来实现固定。已知这些会显着影响许多生理过程，因此限制了我们对动态发育过程的理解。本文中，我们提出了一种新颖，易于使用的微流控平台，用于长期固定可行的，正常发育的秀丽隐杆线虫。与高分辨率的图像采集兼容，从而克服了传统蠕虫固定技术的局限性。该平台的功能通过首次连续评估幼虫秀丽隐杆线虫中的锚定细胞（AC）侵袭和远端尖端细胞（DTC）迁移以及成年秀丽隐杆线虫体内的生殖细胞凋亡进行了连续评估。