Whole mount visualization of the embryonic coronary plexus from which the capillary and arterial networks will form is rendered problematic using standard microscopy techniques, due to the scattering of imaging light by the thick heart tissue, as these vessels are localized deep within the walls of the developing heart. As optical clearing of tissues using organic solvents such as BABB (1 part benzyl alcohol to 2 parts benzyl benzoate) has been shown to greatly improve the optical penetration depth that can be achieved, we combined clearance of whole, PECAM1-immunostained hearts, with laser-scanning confocal microscopy, in order to obtain high-resolution images of vessels throughout the entire heart. BABB clearance of embryonic hearts takes place rapidly and also acts to preserve the fluorescent signal for several weeks; in addition, samples can be imaged multiple times without loss of signal. This straightforward method is also applicable to imaging other types of blood vessels in whole embryos.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5226364PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.3791/54800DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

embryonic hearts
8
analysis coronary
4
vessels
4
coronary vessels
4
vessels cleared
4
cleared embryonic
4
hearts mount
4
mount visualization
4
visualization embryonic
4
embryonic coronary
4

Similar Publications

Unlabelled: During vertebrate development, the heart primarily arises from mesoderm, with crucial contributions from cardiac neural crest cells that migrate to the heart and form a variety of cardiovascular derivatives. Here, by integrating bulk and single cell RNA-seq with ATAC-seq, we identify a gene regulatory subcircuit specific to migratory cardiac crest cells composed of key transcription factors and . Notably, we show that cells expressing the canonical neural crest gene are essential for proper cardiac regeneration in adult zebrafish.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Expression of ABCB1, ABCC1, and LRP in Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Human Amniotic Fluid and Bone Marrow in Culture-Effects of In Vitro Osteogenic and Adipogenic Differentiation.

Int J Mol Sci

January 2025

Lipids, Oxidation, and Cell Biology Group, Laboratory of Immunology (LIM19), Heart Institute (InCor), Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo (HCFMUSP), São Paulo 05403-900, Brazil.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells with the potential to differentiate into various lineages. They have also the potential to protect themselves against harmful stimuli to maintain their functional integrity. Drug resistance-related transporters such as ABCB1 (P-glycoprotein; P-gp), ABCC1 (MRP1; multidrug resistance-related Protein 1), and LRP (lung resistance protein) may protect MSCs against toxic substances such as chemotherapeutic agents.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Systematic Analysis of UFMylation Family Genes in Tissues of Mice with Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease.

Genes (Basel)

December 2024

Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics, Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 310036, China.

Background/objectives: UFMylation, a newly identified ubiquitin-like modification, modulates a variety of physiological processes, including endoplasmic reticulum homeostasis maintenance, DNA damage response, embryonic development, and tumor progression. Recent reports showed that UFMylation plays a protective role in preventing liver steatosis and fibrosis, serving as a defender of liver homeostasis in the development of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). However, the regulation of UFMylation in MASLD remains unclear.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Organs and tissues need to be vascularized during development. Similarly, vascularization is required to engineer thick tissues. How vessels are formed during organogenesis is not fully understood, and vascularization of engineered tissues remains a significant challenge.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Precise modelling of mitochondrial diseases using optimized mitoBEs.

Nature

January 2025

Changping Laboratory, Beijing, The People's Republic of China.

The development of animal models is crucial for studying and treating mitochondrial diseases. Here we optimized adenine and cytosine deaminases to reduce off-target effects on the transcriptome and the mitochondrial genome, improving the accuracy and efficiency of our newly developed mitochondrial base editors (mitoBEs). Using these upgraded mitoBEs (version 2 (v2)), we targeted 70 mouse mitochondrial DNA mutations analogous to human pathogenic variants, establishing a foundation for mitochondrial disease mouse models.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!