The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio

3 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Medicine

Rose Bengal Photothrombosis by Confocal Optical Imaging In Vivo: A Model of Single Vessel Stroke

Lora Talley Watts¹, Wei Zheng¹, R. Justin Garling², Victoria C. Frohlich³, James Donald Lechleiter¹

¹Department of Cellular and Structural Biology, The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, ²School of Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, ³Cell & Tissue Imaging Center, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Here, we describe a semi-invasive optical microscopy approach for the induction of a Rose Bengal photothrombotic clot in the somatosensory cortex of a mouse in vivo. The technical aspects of the imaging procedure are described from induction of a photothrombotic event to application and data collection.

Bioengineering

Visualizing Angiogenesis by Multiphoton Microscopy In Vivo in Genetically Modified 3D-PLGA/nHAp Scaffold for Calvarial Critical Bone Defect Repair

Jian Li¹, Holger Jahr^2,3, Wei Zheng⁴, Pei-Gen Ren¹

¹Center for Translational Medicine Research and Development, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, ²Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Maastricht UMC+, ³Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University Hospital RWTH, ⁴Research Laboratory for Biomedical Optics and Molecular Imaging, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Here, we present a protocol to visualize blood vessel formation in vivo and in real-time in 3D scaffolds by multiphoton microscopy. Angiogenesis in genetically modified scaffolds was studied in a murine calvarial critical bone defect model. More new blood vessels were detected in the treatment group than in controls.

Developmental Biology

Generation of Induced Neural Stem Cells from Peripheral Mononuclear Cells and Differentiation Toward Dopaminergic Neuron Precursors for Transplantation Studies

Wei Zheng^1,2, Zhiguo Chen^1,2

¹Cell Therapy Center, Beijing Institute of Geriatrics, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, and Key Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, Ministry of Education, ²Center of Neural Injury and Repair, Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders

The protocol presents the reprogramming of peripheral blood mononuclear cells to induce neural stem cells by Sendai virus infection, differentiation of iNSCs into dopaminergic neurons, transplantation of DA precursors into the unilaterally-lesioned Parkinson's disease mouse models, and evaluation of the safety and efficacy of iNSC-derived DA precursors for PD treatment.