Very interesting paper appeared in Blood

Dr. Brian Eliceiri, Registered User of CoLocalizer Pro from the Institute for Molecular Medicine in La Jolla, CA, and his colleagues published interesting study about the dependency of tumor metastasis, not tumor growth, on Src-mediated vascular permeability. Src, the non-receptor tyrosine kinase, plays an essential role in specific VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor/vascular permeability (VP) factor) pathway signaling responses. The authors used CoLocalizer Pro software to quantify colocalization of fibrin/FDPs and CD31, markers of vascular endothelial cells, in perivascular spaces of tumors of control (src +/- and wildtype) and src -/- mice. A conclusive difference of the degree of colocalization of them was found. The study suggests that there are defects in VP in the primary site of Src-deficient mice and that there may be an essential role for Src and Src-mediated VP in tumor metastasis to the lung. The paper appeared in Blood (2005, 105: 1508-1514), a highly respected Journal of the American Society of Hematology (Impact Factor 10.12, 2003).

CoLocalizer Pro 1.2 released

We have just released CoLocalizer Pro version 1.2. In this version, we listened to the majority of our users` requests and gave more options for background correction! Background correction has now Auto and Manual modes. In the Manual mode, there are three presets depending upon the image pattern: Average Contrast and Fluorescence, Low Contrast, and Weak Fluorescence. Auto mode should be used by users whose images do not require a very precise correction and should work for the majority of them. It should appeal to the users who want get things done really quickly. For other images and more precision, use Manual mode. We also made several minor enhancements, updated documentation, and tweaked the interface. Enjoy.

Demoing CoLocalizer Pro to colleagues

Two colleagues from Kyoto University visited me today for taking a look at CoLocalizer Pro and trying it out on their images. First of all both of them said it is really great to have a tool that works without a confocal microscope. The guys were excited and looked like they loved the software. Gave me a bunch of images they wanted to analyze and kept asking how to get things done. Asked me a lot of questions about background correction and tried doing correction themselves. They said they are going to buy the software for their labs and recommend it to collaborators. Then they went on telling me why the program is so useful and what they want to see improved and updated. It was great to see people sharing their views to make the program even better.

How the idea to create computer software for quantitative colocalization analysis came out

Hello Everybody! I have been using confocal microscopes for years and wanted to be able to perform reliable analysis of the colocalization of antigens on my samples. I also wanted to do it on my PowerBook, not on anemic Windows computers bundled with the microscopes. I started researching for the appropriate software, but found nothing, not a single title. Well, I teamed up with friends, and together we have created CoLocalizer Pro, a computer software for quantitative analysis of multicolor confocal fluorescence images. We wanted it to be used by our collaborators and the people we know, as well as by many others we don`t. On April 24, after more than 10 months of development, we offered CoLocalizer Pro to the scientific community worldwide. Its journey to the labs has begun.