Name: preparation steps for measurement of reactivity in mouse retinal arterioles ex vivo
Uploaded: 2018-05-08T12:30:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Preparation Steps for Measurement of Reactivity in Mouse Retinal Arterioles Ex Vivo at JoVE.com

This work was supported by grants from the Ernst und Berta Grimmke Stiftung and the Deutsche Ophthalmologische Gesellschaft (DOG).

The experimental procedures of this study were approved by the Animal Care Committee of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Animal care conformed to the institutional guidelines and The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) statement for the use of animals in ophthalmic and vision research. Animals were treated according to the EU Directive 2010/63/EU for animal experiments. Male C57BL/6J mice (The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbour, ME, USA) aged 3-4 months were used for the experiments. Animals were house...

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The measurement of vascular responses in the mouse retina is challenging due to the small size of retinal blood vessels. With the presented technique, retinal arterioles are visualized by transmitted light microscopy. This is possible, because the isolated retina is translucent. The advantage of the technique is the high optical resolution. The calculated spatial resolution is 11 px/&#181;m. However, the real resolution for this optical system that uses white light is between 200 and 300 nm, which is explained by the Abb...

Disturbances in retinal perfusion have been implicated in the pathogenesis of various ocular diseases, such as diabetic retinopathy, hypertensive retinopathy, and glaucoma1,2,3. Thus, studies aimed at measuring vascular reactivity in the retina are important to understand the pathophysiology of these diseases and to develop new treatment approaches.
Due to the possibility of gene manipulation in the murine genome, the mouse has become a widely used animal model for studies of the cardiovascular system4. However, because of the small size of retinal blood vessels (&#8804; 30 &#181;m), measurement of vascular reactivity in the mouse retina is challenging. For example, stereomicroscopic techniques for in vivo measurement are limited in their optical resolution and therefore only allow to exactly detect changes in diameter or blood flow in small blood of less than &#8804; 30 &#181;m diameter when equipped with additional sophisticated devices, such as a confocal microscope using fluorescent dyes or the Adaptive Optics Scanning Light Ophthalmoscope5,6. Moreover, the interpretation of in vivo measurements aimed at identifying local signaling mechanisms in retinal blood vessels can be confounded by anaesthetics, changes in systemic blood pressure and the influence of retrobulbar blood vessels.
Therefore, we developed a method to measure responses of mouse retinal blood vessels with high optic resolution ex vivo. The technique presented herein allows visualization of retinal arterioles via transmitted light microscopy. This method, which can also be used in rats, provides access to the advantages of gene targeting technology in ocular vascular research.

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			<td>Carl Roth GmbH</td>
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preparation steps for measurement of reactivity in mouse retinal arterioles ex vivo

Vascular insufficiency and alterations in normal retinal perfusion are among the major factors for the pathogenesis of various sight-threatening ocular diseases, such as diabetic retinopathy, hypertensive retinopathy, and possibly glaucoma. Therefore, retinal microvascular preparations are pivotal tools for physiological and pharmacological studies to delineate the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms and to design therapies for the diseases. Despite the wide use of mouse models in ophthalmic research, studies on retinal vascular reactivity are scarce in this species. A major reason for this discrepancy is the challenging isolation procedures owing to the small size of these retinal blood vessels, which is ~ &#8804; 30 &#181;m in luminal diameter. To circumvent the problem of direct isolation of these retinal microvessels for functional studies, we established an isolation and preparation technique that enables ex vivo studies of mouse retinal vasoactivity under near-physiological conditions. Although the present experimental preparations will specifically refer to the mouse retinal arterioles, this methodology can readily be employed to microvessels from rats.

U-46619 produced concentration-dependent vasoconstrictor responses in retinal arterioles from wild-type mice of the C57Bl/6J background. At a concentration of 10-6 M, reduction in luminal diameter was &#8776;50% from resting diameter. Figure 9A shows a representative concentration-response curve of one retinal arteriole. In arterioles preconstricted with U46619, cumulative administration of acetylcholine evoked concentration-dependent increases in ...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Preparation Steps for Measurement of Reactivity in Mouse Retinal Arterioles Ex Vivo at JoVE.com

Preparation Steps for Measurement of Reactivity in Mouse Retinal Arterioles Ex Vivo

Many vision-threatening ocular diseases are associated with dysfunctional retinal microvessels. Therefore, the measurement of retinal arteriole responses is important to investigate the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms. This article describes a detailed protocol for mouse retinal arteriole isolation and preparation to assess the effects of vasoactive substances on vascular diameter.

Preparation Steps for Measurement of Reactivity in Mouse Retinal Arterioles Ex Vivo

Vascular insufficiency and alterations in normal retinal perfusion are among the major factors for the pathogenesis of various sight-threatening ocular ...

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