Systems for characterizing localization in biological cells

1 . A method of characterizing reporter position relative to biological cells, comprising:

acquiring image data from biological cells for each of at least two optically distinguishable reporters;

weighting the image data for a first reporter in a graded manner based on weight values defined by corresponding image data for a second reporter, to produce weighted data for the first reporter; and

calculating a measure of subcellular localization for the first reporter using at least a portion of the weighted data.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of acquiring is performed with biological cells that include primary cells and/or stem cells.

3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising a step of labeling the biological cells to include the first reporter, the second reporter, or both, wherein the step of labeling includes (1) a step of contacting the biological cells with at least one dye that is a luminophore, a chromophore, or both, and/or (2) a step of transfecting the biological cells with a nucleic acid.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of acquiring is performed individually for each reporter.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of calculating a measure includes a step of calculating a measure of subcellular distribution of the first reporter between at least a pair of subcellular compartments selected from the group formed by nuclei, cytoplasm, plasma membranes, intracellular membranes, Golgi apparatus, mitochondria, cell surfaces, nucleoli, lysosomes, microtubules, intermediate filaments, actin filaments, and extracellular matrices.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of calculating includes a step of calculating a measure related to a distribution of the first reporter between the nucleus and the cytoplasm of the biological cells.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the image data includes a plurality of data elements corresponding to individual pixels of an image, and wherein the step of weighting is performed with corresponding pairs of data elements from image data of the first and second reporters.

8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising a step of processing the image data for the second reporter to produce at least three different weight values, wherein the step of processing includes at least one of normalizing, averaging, and combining individual data elements of the image data for the second reporter.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of weighting uses a first set of three or more different weight values to produce a first set of weighted data weighted toward a first subcellular compartment, further comprising a step of repeating the step of weighting using a second set of weight values on the image data of the first reporter, to produce a second set of weighted data weighted toward a second subcellular compartment, wherein the step of calculating uses at least a portion of both the first and second sets of weighted data to calculate a measure of subcellular distribution between the first and second subcellular compartments.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the step of repeating the step of weighting results in a substantially complementary weighting of elements of the image data of the first reporter relative to the step of weighting.

11 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the step of acquiring is performed for at least a first, a second, and a third reporter, and wherein the step of repeating the step of weighting uses a second set of weight values define by image data for the third reporter.

12 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising a step of determining a perimeter for the biological cells, wherein the step of calculating is performed selectively with weighted data corresponding to inside the perimeter of the biological cells.

13 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising (1) a step of exposing the biological cells to a candidate modulator, and (2) a step of determining if exposure to the candidate modulator induces a change in first reporter subcellular localization and thus translocation of the first reporter.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the steps of exposing, acquiring, weighting, and calculating are performed a plurality of times with different candidate modulators to screen the candidate modulators for actual modulators of first reporter subcellular localization.

15 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the step of exposing includes a step of contacting the biological cells with a mixture of two or more candidate modulators at the same time.

16 . A method of testing candidate modulators for a translocation effect on biological cells, comprising:

exposing biological cells to a plurality of candidate modulators;

acquiring image data from the biological cells for each of at least two optically distinguishable reporters including a first reporter being tested for translocation between the nucleus and the cytoplasm and a second reporter selectively localized to a nuclear compartment or a cytoplasmic compartment, but not both, within the biological cells;

weighting the image data for the first reporter in a graded manner using three or more weight values defined by positionally corresponding image data for the second reporter, to produce weighted data for the first reporter; and

calculating a measure of first reporter nuclear-cytoplasmic distribution by selectively using an intracellular portion of the weighted data for exposure to each of the plurality of candidate modulators; and

determining which, if any, of the plurality of candidate modulators induces translocation of the first reporter to the nucleus from the cytoplasm, or vice versa, based on the measures of nuclear-cytoplasmic distribution.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the step of calculating includes a step of comparing the weighted data for exposure to a candidate modulator with corresponding image data of the first reporter that is weighted inversely.

18 . A method of characterizing reporter distribution for biological cells, comprising:

acquiring image data from biological cells for a reporter;

processing the image data to create a pair of data representations for a pair of images with overlapping signals indicating respective localization of the reporter to distinct subcellular compartments; and

calculating a measure of subcellular localization for the reporter based on the data representations.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein acquiring image data includes a step of acquiring image data from a reporter component or reporter structure that occurs naturally in the biological cells.

20 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising a step of determining a perimeter for the biological cells, wherein the step of calculating is performed substantially exclusively with data representations disposed within the perimeter.