Zhu Min, Zhang Kaiwen, Thomas Evan C, Xu Ran, Ciruna Brian, Hopyan Sevan, Sun Yu
Program in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, Research Institute, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada.
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3G8, Canada.
Sci Adv. 2025 Mar 14;11(11):eadt7274. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adt7274.
Tissue stiffness plays a crucial role in regulating morphogenesis. The ability to measure and monitor the dynamic progression of tissue stiffness is important for generating and testing mechanistic hypotheses. Methods to measure tissue properties in vivo have been emerging but present challenges with spatial and temporal resolution especially in 3D, by their reliance on highly specialized equipment, and/or due to their invasive nature. Here, we introduce light sheet elastography, a noninvasive method that couples low-frequency shear waves with light sheet fluorescence microscopy by adapting commercially available instruments. With this method, we achieved in toto stiffness mapping of organ-stage mouse and zebrafish embryos at cellular resolution. Versatility of the method enabled time-lapse stiffness mapping during tissue remodeling and of the beating embryonic heart. This method expands the spectrum of tools available to biologists and presents opportunities for uncovering the mechanical basis of morphogenesis.
组织硬度在调节形态发生过程中起着至关重要的作用。测量和监测组织硬度动态变化的能力对于生成和检验机制假说非常重要。体内测量组织特性的方法不断涌现，但在空间和时间分辨率方面存在挑战，尤其是在三维空间中，这是由于它们依赖高度专业化的设备，和/或因其具有侵入性。在此，我们介绍光片弹性成像技术，这是一种通过改装市售仪器将低频剪切波与光片荧光显微镜相结合的非侵入性方法。通过这种方法，我们在细胞分辨率下实现了器官期小鼠和斑马鱼胚胎的全组织硬度图谱绘制。该方法的多功能性使得在组织重塑过程中以及跳动的胚胎心脏上进行延时硬度图谱绘制成为可能。这种方法扩展了生物学家可用工具的范围，并为揭示形态发生的力学基础提供了机会。
