Cells display broad heterogeneity across multiple phenotypic features, including motility, morphology, and cell signaling. Live-cell imaging techniques are beginning to capture the importance and interdependence of these phenomena. However, existing image analysis pipelines often fail to capture the intricate changes that occur in small subpopulations, either due to poor segmentation protocols or cell tracking errors. Here we report a pipeline designed to image and track single-cell dynamic phenotypes in heterogeneous cell populations. We provide step-by-step instructions for three phenotypically different cell lines across two time scales as well as recommendations for adaptation to custom data sets. Our protocols include steps for quality control that can be used to filter out erroneous tracks and improve assessment of heterogeneity. We demonstrate possible phenotypic readouts including motility, nuclear receptor translocation, and mitosis.
Keywords: Heterogeneity; Live-cell imaging; Mitosis; Motility; Phenotypes; Receptor translocation; Tracking.