TY - JOUR
T1 - A Novel Technique for Visualizing and Analyzing the Cerebral Vasculature in Rodents
AU - Salehi, Arjang
AU - Jullienne, Amandine
AU - Wendel, Kara M.
AU - Hamer, Mary
AU - Tang, Jiping
AU - Zhang, John H.
AU - Pearce, William J.
AU - DeFazio, Richard A.
AU - Vexler, Zinaida S.
AU - Obenaus, Andre
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2019/4/15
Y1 - 2019/4/15
N2 - We introduce a novel protocol to stain, visualize, and analyze blood vessels from the rat and mouse cerebrum. This technique utilizes the fluorescent dye, DiI, to label the lumen of the vasculature followed by perfusion fixation. Following brain extraction, the labeled vasculature is then imaged using wide-field fluorescence microscopy for axial and coronal images and can be followed by regional confocal microscopy. Axial and coronal images can be analyzed using classical angiographic methods for vessel density, length, and other features. We also have developed a novel fractal analysis to assess vascular complexity. Our protocol has been optimized for adult rat, adult mouse, and neonatal mouse studies. The protocol is efficient, can be rapidly completed, stains cerebral vessels with a bright fluorescence, and provides valuable quantitative data. This method has a broad range of applications, and we demonstrate its use to study the vasculature in assorted models of acquired brain injury.
AB - We introduce a novel protocol to stain, visualize, and analyze blood vessels from the rat and mouse cerebrum. This technique utilizes the fluorescent dye, DiI, to label the lumen of the vasculature followed by perfusion fixation. Following brain extraction, the labeled vasculature is then imaged using wide-field fluorescence microscopy for axial and coronal images and can be followed by regional confocal microscopy. Axial and coronal images can be analyzed using classical angiographic methods for vessel density, length, and other features. We also have developed a novel fractal analysis to assess vascular complexity. Our protocol has been optimized for adult rat, adult mouse, and neonatal mouse studies. The protocol is efficient, can be rapidly completed, stains cerebral vessels with a bright fluorescence, and provides valuable quantitative data. This method has a broad range of applications, and we demonstrate its use to study the vasculature in assorted models of acquired brain injury.
KW - Analysis
KW - Rodents
KW - Stroke
KW - Traumatic brain injury
KW - Vasculature
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85046889632&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85046889632&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/20c969cf-6c80-3aa3-b35f-30b22ed7cfe7/
U2 - 10.1007/s12975-018-0632-0
DO - 10.1007/s12975-018-0632-0
M3 - Article
C2 - 29766452
SN - 1868-4483
VL - 10
SP - 216
EP - 230
JO - Translational Stroke Research
JF - Translational Stroke Research
IS - 2
ER -