Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin, Germany.
Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
PLoS One. 2024 Oct 14;19(10):e0308601. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0308601. eCollection 2024.
The importance of microvascular imaging in diagnosis and therapeutic targeting of various diseases is increasingly recognized. The new approach emphasizes the need for holistic studies to understand the inter-organ vascular cross-talk. Here, we report on the development of a novel perfusion protocol which consistently delivers a micro-computed tomography contrast agent to micro-vessels of multiple organs in a single experimental animal. We describe the achieved repeatability of the perfusions, as well as the image analysis steps developed individually for each organ type. We also optimize image acquisition by investigating the compromise between shortening of the scanning time and preservation of the highest possible spatial resolution. Taking together, with the multi-organ perfusion, optimized image acquisition, and the conceived image analysis steps, we provide a comprehensive and reliable experimental protocol for studying vascular morphology and pathology in multi-organ diseases.
微血管成像在各种疾病的诊断和治疗靶向中的重要性日益得到认可。这种新方法强调需要进行整体研究，以了解器官间的血管串扰。在这里，我们报告了一种新的灌注方案的开发，该方案可在单个实验动物中将微计算机断层扫描造影剂持续输送到多个器官的微血管中。我们描述了实现的灌注可重复性，以及为每种器官类型单独开发的图像分析步骤。我们还通过研究缩短扫描时间和保留尽可能高的空间分辨率之间的折衷来优化图像采集。总之，通过多器官灌注、优化的图像采集以及构思好的图像分析步骤，我们为研究多器官疾病中的血管形态和病理学提供了一种全面可靠的实验方案。
