Center for Cancer Biology, VIB (BE); Department of Oncology, KU Leuven (BE).
Netherlands Cancer Institute, Department of Molecular Pathology, Oncode Institute (NL).
J Vis Exp. 2022 Jan 20(179). doi: 10.3791/63326.
The branched structure of the mammary gland is highly dynamic and undergoes several phases of growth and remodeling after birth. Intravital microscopy in combination with skin flap surgery or implantation of imaging windows has been used to study the dynamics of the healthy mammary gland at different developmental stages. Most mammary imaging technologies are limited to a time frame of hours to days, whereas the majority of mammary gland remodeling processes occur in time frames of days to weeks. To study mammary gland remodeling, methods that allow optical access to the tissue of interest for extended time frames are required. Here, an improved version of the titanium mammary imaging window with a replaceable lid (R.MIW) is described that allows high-resolution imaging of the mammary gland with a cellular resolution for up to several weeks. Importantly, the R.MIW provides tissue access over the entire duration of the intravital imaging experiment and could therefore be used for local tissue manipulation, labeling, drug administration, or image-guided microdissection. Taken together, the R.MIW enables high-resolution characterization of the cellular dynamics during mammary gland development, homeostasis, and disease.
乳腺的分支结构具有高度动态性，在出生后经历几个生长和重塑阶段。活体显微镜结合皮肤瓣手术或植入成像窗口已被用于研究不同发育阶段健康乳腺的动态。大多数乳腺成像技术的时间框架限于数小时到数天，而大多数乳腺重塑过程发生在数天到数周的时间框架内。为了研究乳腺重塑，需要允许对感兴趣的组织进行长时间光学访问的方法。在这里，描述了一种带有可更换盖子的改进型钛制乳腺成像窗口 (R.MIW)，该窗口允许对乳腺进行高分辨率成像，具有高达数周的细胞分辨率。重要的是，R.MIW 在整个活体成像实验期间提供组织访问，因此可用于局部组织操作、标记、药物给药或图像引导的显微解剖。总之，R.MIW 能够实现乳腺发育、稳态和疾病过程中细胞动态的高分辨率特征分析。
