Bristol Renal, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK; The Royal Veterinary College, University of London, North Mymms, UK.
Bristol Renal, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Vet J. 2022 Jul;285:105844. doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2022.105844. Epub 2022 May 28.
The endothelial glycocalyx (eGlx) lines the luminal surface of endothelial cells. It is critical in maintaining vascular health and when damaged contributes to many diseases. Its fragility makes studying the eGlx technically challenging. The current reference standard for eGlx visualisation, by electron microscopy using glutaraldehyde/Alcian blue perfusion fixation, has not been previously reported in dogs. Established techniques were applied to achieve visualisation of the eGlx in the microvasculature of reproductive tissue in five healthy dogs undergoing elective neutering. Uterine and testicular artery samples underwent perfusion fixation, in the presence of Alcian blue, prior to transmission electron microscopy imaging. Image processing software was used to determine eGlx depth. EGlx was visualised in the arteries of two dogs, one testicular and one uterine, with median (range) eGlx depths of 68.2 nm (32.1-122.9 nm) and 47.6 nm (26.1-129.4 nm) respectively. Study of the eGlx is technically challenging, particularly its direct visualisation in clinical samples. Further research is needed to develop more clinically applicable techniques to measure eGlx health.
内皮糖萼（eGlx）排列在内皮细胞的管腔表面。它对于维持血管健康至关重要，并且在受损时会导致许多疾病。其脆弱性使得研究 eGlx 在技术上具有挑战性。目前，使用戊二醛/阿利新蓝灌注固定的电子显微镜来可视化 eGlx 的参考标准尚未在犬中报道过。应用已建立的技术在 5 只接受选择性绝育的健康犬的生殖组织的微血管中实现了 eGlx 的可视化。在存在阿利新蓝的情况下，对子宫动脉和睾丸动脉样本进行灌注固定，然后进行透射电子显微镜成像。使用图像处理软件确定 eGlx 的深度。在两只犬的动脉中观察到了 eGlx，一只睾丸动脉，一只子宫动脉，其 eGlx 深度的中位数（范围）分别为 68.2nm（32.1-122.9nm）和 47.6nm（26.1-129.4nm）。研究 eGlx 在技术上具有挑战性，特别是在临床样本中直接可视化 eGlx。需要进一步研究来开发更具临床适用性的技术来测量 eGlx 的健康状况。
