Intravital Two-Photon Microscopy of the Transplanted Mouse Lung

Summary

Here, we present a protocol to intravitally image the transplanted mouse left lung using two-photon microscopy. This represents a valuable tool for studying cellular dynamics and interactions in real-time following murine lung transplantation.

Abstract

Complications after lung transplantation are largely related to the host immune system responding to the graft. Such immune responses are regulated by crosstalk between donor and recipient cells. A better understanding of these processes relies on the use of preclinical animal models and is aided by an ability to study intra-graft immune cell trafficking in real-time. Intravital two-photon microscopy can be used to image tissues and organs for depths up to several hundred microns with minimal photodamage, which affords a great advantage over single-photon confocal microscopy. Selective use of transgenic mice with promoter-specific fluorescent protein expression and/or adoptive transfer of fluorescent dye-labeled cells during intravital two-photon microscopy allows for the dynamic study of single cells within their physiologic environment. Our group has developed a technique to stabilize mouse lungs, which has enabled us to image cellular dynamics in naïve lungs and orthotopically transplanted pulmonary grafts. This technique allows for detailed assessment of cellular behavior within the vasculature and in the interstitium, as well as for examination of interactions between various cell populations. This procedure can be readily learned and adapted to study immune mechanisms that regulate inflammatory and tolerogenic responses after lung transplantation. It can also be expanded to the study of other pathogenic pulmonary conditions.

Introduction

Lung transplantation is the final option for many patients suffering from end-stage pulmonary disease; however, long-term survival after lung transplantation is poor compared to other solid organ transplants. Survival at 5 years is only ~60%-70%¹, compared to 80%-90% in hearts² and 85%-90% in kidneys³. Many complications after lung transplantation, such as primary graft dysfunction, antibody-mediated rejection, and chronic lung allograft dysfunction, are due to the host immune response to the allograft. For example, our group has shown that neutrophils are rapidly recruited into the lung allograft....

Protocol

All animal handling procedures were conducted in compliance with the National Institutes of Health Care and Use of Laboratory Animals guidelines and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at Washington University School of Medicine.

1. Anesthesia and intubation

NOTE: Orthotopic mouse left lung transplant is performed, as previously described^20,21. Lungs from 20-25 g C57BL/.......

Discussion

Two-photon excitation was first described in her doctoral thesis by Maria Göppert-Mayer in 1931, who later won the Nobel Prize in Physics for describing the nuclear shell structure^22,23. Traditional fluorescence microscopy relies on single-photon excitation, with excitation wavelengths that are shorter and higher energy than emission wavelengths. In contrast to single-photon microscopy, two-photon microscopy involves simultaneous excitation by two photons, e.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
0.75% povidone-iodine	Aplicare	NDC 52380-0126-2	For disinfectant
1-inch 20G IV catheter	Terumo	SROX2025CA	For endotracheal tube (ETT)
1-inch silk tape	Durapore	3M ID 7100057168	To secure mouse in position
20x water immersion long objective lens	Olympus	N20X-PFH
3M Vetbond glue	Medi-Vet.com	10872	To glue coverglass to lung
655 nm non-targeted quantum dots	ThermoFisher	Q21021MP	For labeling of blood vessels
70% ethanol	Sigma Aldrich	EX0281	For disinfectant
Argent High Temp Fine Tip Cautery Pen	McKesson	231
Black O ring (2 cm)	Hardware store	N/A	For custom-built imaging chamber
Bolt (2)	Hardware store	N/A	For custom-built imaging chamber
Brass thumb nut (2)	Hardware store	N/A	For custom-built imaging chamber
Buprenorphine 1.3 mg/mL	Fidelis Animal Health	NDC 86084-100-30	For pain control
Chameleon titanium-sapphire femtosecond pulsed laser	Coherent	N/A
Cover glass (24 mm x 50 mm)	Thomas Scientific	1202F63	For custom-built imaging chamber
Curved mosquito clamp (1)	Fine Science Tools	13009-12
Dual channel heater controller	Warner Instruments	TC-344B
Fine scissors (1)	Fine Science Tools	15040-11
Fixed-stage upright microscope	Olympus	BX51WI
Gauze (cut to 1 cm x 3 cm)	McKesson	476709	To place under left lung
High vacuum grease	Dow Corning	N/A	To adhere coverglass onto top plate
Isoflurane 1%	Sigma Aldrich	26675-46-7	For anesthesia
Ketamine hydrochloride 100 mg/mL	Vedco	NDC 50989-996-06	For anesthesia
Metal sheet (3 cm x 7 cm)	Hardware store	N/A	For custom-built imaging chamber
Pointed cotton-tipped applicators	Solon	56225	To manipulate lung and for blunt dissection
Power Pro Ultra clipper	Oster	078400-020-001
Puralube Vet eye ointment	Medi-Vet.com	11897	To prevent eye dessiccation
Small animal ventilator	Harvard Apparatus	55-0000
Straight forceps (1)	Fine Science Tools	91113-10
Three channel shutter driver	Uniblitz	VMM-D3	Resonant scanner
x.y.z optical stepper motor	Prior Scientific	OptiScan II
Xylazine 20 mg/mL	Akorn	NDC 59399-110-20	For pain control