REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1630658
Visualizing cellular interactions: intravital imaging in tumor microenvironment
Provisionally accepted
- Cancer Hospital, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China
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The tumor milieu is a dynamic ecosystem where immune cells, stromal cells, and tumor cells interact to influence tumor progression and anti-tumor immunity. Traditional experimental methods, limited to static in vitro or ex vivo analyses at specific time points, cannot fully capture the complexity and dynamic evolution of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in living organisms. Intravital microscopy (IVM), powered by advanced imaging technologies, precise labeling strategies, and optimized experimental approaches, enables real-time visualization of biological structures and cellular interactions within living animals. This review synthesizes findings from IVM-based research, focusing on the dynamic and transient interactions between tumor cells and other cell types, such as normal epithelial cells, immune cells, and stromal cells. It explores the nature of these interactions, their impact on tumor progression, and the outcomes of therapeutic interventions.Overall, we aim to provide a comprehensive resource that highlights the role of IVM in uncovering the dynamic cellular interplay within the TME and its implications for 2 advancing tumor biological research and improving cancer therapies.
Keywords: intravital imaging, Tumor Microenvironment, Cellular interaction, tumor, in vivo imaging
Received: 18 May 2025; Accepted: 04 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Li, Liu, Shan and Qian. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Shichao Li, Cancer Hospital, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China
Juanjuan Shan, Cancer Hospital, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China
Cheng Qian, Cancer Hospital, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.