Prajapati Suresh I, Rodriguez David R, Keller Charles
Greehey Children's Cancer Research Institute, The University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX, USA.
Methods Mol Biol. 2014;1092:291-6. doi: 10.1007/978-1-60327-292-6_19.
Advances in imaging technologies and computational capabilities have made possible novel methods for phenotypic assessments and visualization of detailed anatomical structures of whole embryos. We recently reported a rapid and inexpensive technique for achieving high-resolution virtual histology for phenotyping assessment of mouse embryos (Johnson et al., PLoS Genet 2:e61, 2006). By en bloc staining in a solution of electron-dense osmium tetroxide followed by volumetric X-ray computed tomography, whole embryos can be imaged at isometric resolutions as high as 2.5 μm, depending on the size of the specimen. The datasets generated by these techniques are compatible with state-of-the-art computational methods of organ pattern analysis. This method of Microscopic Computed Tomography (microCT)-based Virtual Histology of embryos allows one to rapidly and accurately phenotype transgenic embryos or to engage in developmental and reproductive toxicology studies of investigational drugs at better resolution, less time, and less expense than traditional histology, magnetic resonance microscopy, or the classical Wilson and Staples procedures.
成像技术和计算能力的进步使全胚胎详细解剖结构的表型评估和可视化的新方法成为可能。我们最近报道了一种快速且廉价的技术，用于实现小鼠胚胎表型评估的高分辨率虚拟组织学（Johnson等人，《公共科学图书馆·遗传学》2：e61，2006）。通过在电子致密的四氧化锇溶液中进行整体染色，然后进行容积X射线计算机断层扫描，根据标本大小，全胚胎可以在高达2.5μm的等距分辨率下成像。这些技术生成的数据集与器官模式分析的最新计算方法兼容。这种基于显微计算机断层扫描（microCT）的胚胎虚拟组织学方法使人们能够快速、准确地对转基因胚胎进行表型分析，或比传统组织学、磁共振显微镜或经典的威尔逊和斯台普斯方法以更高的分辨率、更短的时间和更低的成本进行研究药物的发育和生殖毒理学研究。
