Imaging of leukocytes within the rat brain cortex in vivo.
Confocal laser scanning microscopy was used in a rat closed cranial window preparation in order to study rhodamin 6G-labeled leukocytes within the brain cortex in vivo. Leukocytes were visualized up to 150 microns beneath the rat brain surface in noninvasive optical sections. In pial venules, leukocytes were seen flowing with the blood stream, rolling along or sticking to the endothelium, and migrating through the vessel wall. Within cerebral capillaries, leukocyte flux, velocities, and leukocyte plugging were measured. After additional intravenous administration of fluorescein, the plasma, leukocytes, and erythrocytes were visualized simultaneously. Based on stacks of optical sections of fluorescein-labeled capillaries, the individual capillaries were localized within the three-dimensional microvascular network. The usefulness of this technique was illustrated in a feasibility study in which leukocyte sticking to the vascular walls of venules, leukocyte extravasation, and intracapillary leukocyte plugging were monitored in a model of global cerebral ischemia.
Villringer
A
A
Department of Neurology, University of Munich, Federal Republic of Germany.
Dirnagl
U
U
Them
A
A
Schürer
L
L
Krombach
F
F
Einhäupl
K M
KM
D000818:Animals; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002196:Capillaries / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000502:physiology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D004396:Coloring Agents; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000166:cytology; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D010949:Plasma / Q000166:cytology; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012235:Rhodamines; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D014699:Venules / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology
D004396:Coloring Agents; D012235:Rhodamines; C026188:rhodamine 6G