Correlative Imaging of the Murine Hind Limb Vasculature and Muscle Tissue by MicroCT and Light Microscopy

Schaad, Laura; Hlushchuk, Ruslan; Barré, Sébastien; Gianni-Barrera, Roberto; Haberthür, David; Banfi, Andrea; Djonov, Valentin (2017). Correlative Imaging of the Murine Hind Limb Vasculature and Muscle Tissue by MicroCT and Light Microscopy. Scientific Reports, 7(41842), p. 41842. Nature Publishing Group 10.1038/srep41842

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A detailed vascular visualization and adequate quantification is essential for the proper assessment of novel angiomodulating strategies. Here, we introduce an ex vivo micro-computed tomography (microCT)-based imaging approach for the 3D visualization of the entire vasculature down to the capillary level and rapid estimation of the vascular volume and vessel size distribution. After perfusion with μAngiofil®, a novel polymerizing contrast agent, low- and high-resolution scans (voxel side length: 2.58–0.66 μm) of the entire vasculature were acquired. Based on the microCT data, sites of interest were defined and samples further processed for correlative morphology. The solidified, autofluorescent μAngiofil® remained in the vasculature and allowed co-registering of the histological sections with the corresponding microCT-stack. The perfusion efficiency of μAngiofil® was validated based on lectin-stained histological sections: 98 ± 0.5% of the blood vessels were μAngiofil®-positive, whereas 93 ± 2.6% were lectin-positive. By applying this approach we analyzed the angiogenesis induced by the cell-based delivery of a controlled VEGF dose. Vascular density increased by 426% mainly through the augmentation of medium-sized vessels (20–40 μm). The introduced correlative and quantitative imaging approach is highly reproducible and allows a detailed 3D characterization of the vasculature and muscle tissue. Combined with histology, a broad range of complementary structural information can be obtained.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

09 Interdisciplinary Units > Microscopy Imaging Center (MIC)
04 Faculty of Medicine > Pre-clinic Human Medicine > Institute of Anatomy
04 Faculty of Medicine > Pre-clinic Human Medicine > Institute of Anatomy > Topographical and Clinical Anatomy

Graduate School:

Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences (GCB)

UniBE Contributor:

Schaad, Laura, Hlushchuk, Ruslan, Barré, Sébastien, Haberthür, David, Djonov, Valentin Georgiev

Subjects:

600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health

ISSN:

2045-2322

Publisher:

Nature Publishing Group

Language:

English

Submitter:

David Christian Haberthür

Date Deposited:

02 Aug 2017 15:05

Last Modified:

16 Nov 2023 10:33

Publisher DOI:

10.1038/srep41842

PubMed ID:

28169309

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.97625

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/97625

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