Imaging of the mouse lung with scanning laser optical tomography (SLOT).
The current study focuses on the use of scanning laser optical tomography (SLOT) in imaging of the mouse lung ex vivo. SLOT is a highly efficient fluorescence microscopy technique allowing rapid scanning of samples of a size of several millimeters, thus enabling volumetric visualization by using intrinsic contrast mechanisms of previously fixed lung lobes. Here, we demonstrate the imaging of airways, blood vessels, and parenchyma from whole, optically cleared mouse lung lobes with a resolution down to the level of single alveoli using absorption and autofluorescence scan modes. The internal structure of the lung can then be analyzed nondestructively and quantitatively in three-dimensional datasets in any preferred planar orientation. Moreover, the procedure preserves the microscopic structure of the lung and allows for subsequent correlative histologic studies. In summary, the current study has shown that SLOT is a valuable technique to study the internal structure of the mouse lung.
Institute of Functional and Applied Anatomy, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Manuela
M
Kellner
Marko
M
Heidrich
Rebecca
R
Beigel
Raoul-Amadeus
RA
Lorbeer
Lars
L
Knudsen
Tammo
T
Ripken
Alexander
A
Heisterkamp
Heiko
H
Meyer
Mark Philipp
MP
Kühnel
Matthias
M
Ochs
D000818:Animals; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D054023:Lasers, Semiconductor; D008168:Lung / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000098:blood supply / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D011650:Pulmonary Alveoli / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D037663:Pulmonary Surfactant-Associated Protein D / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics; D041622:Tomography, Optical / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*
D037663:Pulmonary Surfactant-Associated Protein D