Va San Diego Healthcare System

2 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Medicine

Endotracheal Intubation in Mice via Direct Laryngoscopy Using an Otoscope

Joanna L. Thomas^1,2, Justin Dumouchel², Jinghong Li², Jenna Magat², Dana Balitzer³, Timothy D. Bigby^1,2

¹Medical and Research Services, VA San Diego Healthcare System, ²Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, ³School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego

We have developed a simple, reliable, and relatively inexpensive method for endotracheal intubation in mice via direct laryngoscopy using an otoscope with a 2.0 mm speculum. This technique is atraumatic and can be used for repeated measurements in chronic experiments. We find it superior to tracheostomy or previously reported nonsurgical techniques.

Neuroscience

Real-time Imaging of Axonal Transport of Quantum Dot-labeled BDNF in Primary Neurons

Xiaobei Zhao¹, Yue Zhou², April M. Weissmiller¹, Matthew L. Pearn^3,4, William C. Mobley¹, Chengbiao Wu¹

¹Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, ²School of Biomedical Engineering and Med-X Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, ³Department of Anesthesiology, University of California, San Diego, ⁴VA San Diego Healthcare System

Axonal transport of BDNF, a neurotrophic factor, is critical for the survival and function of several neuronal populations. Some degenerative disorders are marked by disruption of axonal structure and function. We demonstrated the techniques used to examine live trafficking of QD-BDNF in microfluidic chambers using primary neurons.