University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine

Intestinal obstructions are a partial or complete blockage of the intestine that can cause severe abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and preventing the passage of stool. This procedure for creating intestinal partial obsructions in mice is reliable in studying the mechanisms underlying pathological cell growth and death in the intestine.

Genetically encoded Ca²⁺ indicators (GECIs) have radically changed how in situ Ca²⁺ imaging is performed. To maximize data recovery from such recordings, appropriate analysis of Ca²⁺ signals is required. The protocols in this paper facilitate the quantification of Ca²⁺ signals recorded in situ using spatiotemporal mapping and particle-based analysis.

The goal of this protocol is to isolate intact pacemaker regions of the mouse renal pelvis using vibratome sectioning. These sections can then be used for in situ Ca²⁺ imaging to elucidate Ca²⁺ transient properties of pacemaker cells and other interstitial cells in vibratome slices.

The present protocol describes a unique technique called dosage-adjusted resistance training (DART), which can be incorporated into precision rehabilitation studies performed in small animals, such as mice.