Dr. Tua Karling has won the Drosophila Image Award for her work in Dr. Helen Weavers' group at University of Bristol.
The Drosophila Image Award, sponsored by the Genetics Society of America, recognizes compelling images that communicate important findings in Drosophila research.
Her striking image was titled: Dynamic nuclear adaptation by immune cells during in vivo confinement
Cells navigating in complex 3D environments often encounter narrow spaces that physically challenge their migration. Here, we harnessed the Drosophila pupal wing to explore how immune cells adapt to confinement in vivo. Using live confocal microscopy, this image captures immune cells (magenta, srp driven mCherry) migrating within narrow wing vessels (epithelial GFP-Moesin, cyan), where vessel confinement triggers nuclear deformation (inset; white, nuclear RFP). Strikingly, we find that vessel-bound immune cells adapt their nuclear lamina composition to enhance nuclear deformability, curb damage (e.g. nuclear rupture), and thereby optimise motility in vivo.
Paper
Immune cells adapt to confined environments in vivo to optimise nuclear plasticity for migration.
EMBO Reports 26, 1238-1268 (2025)