We express our gratitude to&#160;Dr. Eric Olson&#39;s group at UT Southwestern Medical Center for generously sharing the animal models. We appreciate all the constructive comments provided by D-incubator members at UT Dallas. This work was supported by NIH R00HL148493 (Y.D.), R01HL162635 (Y.D.), and UT Dallas STARS program (Y.D.).

Animal protocols and experiments have been approved and conducted under the oversight of the University of Texas at Dallas Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC #21-03). C57BL6 mice, including neonates at postnatal day 1 (P1) and 8-week-old adults, were used in this study. No difference was observed between males and females. All data acquisition and image post-processing were carried out using open-source software or platforms with research or educational licenses. The resources are available from the autho...

Light-Sheet Microscopy and Tissue Clearing for Comprehensive Cardiac Imaging

The advancement of imaging, computation, and tissue clearing methods has provided an unparalleled opportunity to extensively investigate cardiac structure and function. This holds great potential for deepening our understanding of cardiac morphogenesis and pathogenesis using an intact rodent heart model. In contrast to in vivo studies of zebrafish heart using a similar approach40,41,42,43</s...

Heart failure remains the leading cause of mortality worldwide, primarily due to the lack of regenerative capacity of mature cardiomyocytes1. The intricate architecture of the heart plays a crucial role in its function and provides insights into developmental processes. A profound understanding of cardiac structure is essential for elucidating the fundamental processes of cardiac morphogenesis and remodeling in response to myocardial infarction. Recent progress has demonstrated that neonatal mice can restore cardiac function following injury, while adult mice lack such regenerative capacity2. This establishes a foundation for investigating cues associated with structural and functional abnormalities in mouse models. Traditional imaging methods, such as confocal microscopy, have technical limitations, including restricted penetration depth, slow point-scanning scheme, and photo damage from prolonged exposure to laser light. These hinder comprehensive three-dimensional (3D) imaging of the intact heart. In this context, light-sheet microscopy (LSM) emerges as a powerful solution, offering the advantages of high-speed imaging, reduced photo damage, and exceptional optical sectioning capabilities3,4,5. The unique features of LSM position it as a promising method to overcome the limitations of conventional techniques, providing unprecedented insights into cardiac development and remodeling processes6,7,8.
In this protocol, we introduce an imaging strategy that combines advanced LSM with adapted tissue clearing approaches9, allowing for the imaging of entire mouse hearts without the need for specific labeling and mechanical sectioning. We further propose that conventional LSM imaging can be enhanced through multiview deconvolution10 or axially swept light-sheet microscopy (ASLM) techniques11,12,13,14,15 to improve axial resolution. Additionally, the integration of image stitching with either of these methods can effectively overcome the trade-off between spatial resolution and field of view (FOV), thereby advancing the imaging of adult mouse hearts. The incorporation of numerous tissue clearing approaches, including hydrophobic, hydrophilic, and hydrogel-based methods, enables deeper light penetration for capturing the morphology of the entire heart16,17,18,19.
While multiple clearing methods are compatible with current LSM systems, the goal is to minimize photon scattering and enhance light penetration in tissues, like the heart, by replacing lipids with a medium that closely matches its refractive index. iDISCO was chosen as the representative20,21 and adapted for autofluorescence imaging in this protocol due to its rapid processing and high transparency (Figure 1A). Collectively, the integration of the advanced LSM approach with tissue clearing techniques offers a promising framework to unravel intricate cardiac anatomy in rodent hearts, holding significant potential for advancing our understanding of cardiac morphogenesis and pathogenesis.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
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		<tr>
			<td>1% Agarose</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
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		<tr>
			<td>Low melting point agarose</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher</td>
			<td>16520050</td>
			<td></td>
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		<tr>
			<td>Deionized water</td>
			<td>-</td>
			<td>-</td>
			<td></td>
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		<tr>
			<td>Chemicals for tissue clearing&#160;</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
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		<tr>
			<td>5-Amino-1,3,3-trimethylcyclohexanemethylamine, mixture of cis and trans</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>118184</td>
			<td></td>
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		<tr>
			<td>D.E.R.&#8482; 332</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>31185</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>D.E.R.&#8482; 736</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>31191</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dibenzyl ether (DBE)</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>33630</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dichloromethane (DCM)</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>270997</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fluorescent beads</td>
			<td>Spherotech</td>
			<td>FP-0556-2</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>216736</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Methanol</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>439193</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Paraformaldehyde (PFA)</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher</td>
			<td>47392</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Phosphate Buffered Saline (PBS)</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>79383</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Potassium Chloride (KCl)</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>P3911</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Software and algorithms</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Amira</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>2021.2</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>BigStitcher</td>
			<td>H&#246;rl et al.22</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fiji-ImageJ</td>
			<td>Schindelin et al.20</td>
			<td>1.54f</td>
			<td></td>
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		<tr>
			<td>HCImage Live</td>
			<td>Hamamatsu Photonics</td>
			<td>4.6.1.2</td>
			<td></td>
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			<td>LabVIEW</td>
			<td>National Instruments Corporation</td>
			<td>2017 SP1</td>
			<td></td>
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		<tr>
			<td>Key components of the customized light-sheet system</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>0.63 - 6.3X Zoom body</td>
			<td>Olympus</td>
			<td>MVX-ZB10&#160;</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>10X Illumination objective</td>
			<td>Nikon</td>
			<td>MRH00105</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>1X detection objective</td>
			<td>Olympus</td>
			<td>MV PLAPO 1X/0.25&#160;</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>473nm DPSS Laser</td>
			<td>Laserglow Technologies</td>
			<td>LRS-0473-PFM-00100-05</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>532nm DPSS laser</td>
			<td>Laserglow Technologies</td>
			<td>LRS-0532-PFM-00100-05</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>589&#8201;nm DPSS laser</td>
			<td>Laserglow Technologies</td>
			<td>LRS-0589-GFF-00100-05</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>BNC connector</td>
			<td>National Instrument</td>
			<td>BNC-2110</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cylindrical lens</td>
			<td>Thorlabs</td>
			<td>ACY254-050-A</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>DC-Motor Controller, 4 axes</td>
			<td>Physik Instrumente</td>
			<td>C-884.4DC</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>ETL</td>
			<td>Optotune</td>
			<td>EL-16-40-TC-VIS-5D-1-C</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>ETL Cable</td>
			<td>Optotune</td>
			<td>CAB-6-300</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>ETL Lens Driver</td>
			<td>Optotune</td>
			<td>EL-E-4i</td>
			<td></td>
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		<tr>
			<td>Filter</td>
			<td>Chroma</td>
			<td>ET525/30</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Filter</td>
			<td>Chroma</td>
			<td>ET585-40</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Filter</td>
			<td>Chroma</td>
			<td>ET645-75</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Filter wheel&#160;</td>
			<td>Shutter Instrument</td>
			<td>LAMBDA 10-B</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Motorized translation stage</td>
			<td>Physik Instrumente</td>
			<td>L-406.20DG10</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Motorized translation stage</td>
			<td>Physik Instrumente</td>
			<td>L-406.40DG10</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Motorized translation stage</td>
			<td>Physik Instrumente</td>
			<td>M-403.4PD</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NI multifunction I/O</td>
			<td>National Instrument</td>
			<td>PCIe-6363</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>sCMOS camera</td>
			<td>Hamamatsu</td>
			<td>C13440-20CU</td>
			<td></td>
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		<tr>
			<td>Stepper motor</td>
			<td>Pololu</td>
			<td>1474</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tube lens</td>
			<td>Olympus</td>
			<td>MVX-TLU</td>
			<td></td>
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light-sheet imaging to reveal cardiac structure in rodent hearts

Light-sheet microscopy (LSM) plays a pivotal role in comprehending the intricate three-dimensional (3D) structure of the heart, providing crucial insights into fundamental cardiac physiology and pathologic responses. We hereby delve into the development and implementation of the LSM technique to elucidate the micro-architecture of the heart in mouse models. The methodology integrates a customized LSM system with tissue clearing techniques, mitigating light scattering within cardiac tissues for volumetric imaging. The combination of conventional LSM with image stitching and multiview deconvolution approaches allows for the capture of the entire heart. To address the inherent trade-off between axial resolution and field of view (FOV), we further introduce an axially swept light-sheet microscopy (ASLM) method to minimize out-of-focus light and uniformly illuminate the heart across the propagation direction. In the meanwhile, tissue clearing methods such as iDISCO enhance light penetration, facilitating the visualization of deep structures and ensuring a comprehensive examination of the myocardium throughout the entire heart. The combination of the proposed LSM and tissue clearing methods presents a promising platform for researchers in resolving cardiac structures in rodent hearts, holding great potential for the understanding of cardiac morphogenesis and remodeling.

Author Spotlight: Customized Light-Sheet Imaging for Investigating Myocardial Structures in Rodent Hearts

Light-Sheet Imaging to Reveal Cardiac Structure in Rodent Hearts

Our research aims at customizing a light-sheet imaging system to investigate the myocardial structures of the intact rodent heart at a cellular level. We have developed a workflow to explore the intact myocardium with isotropic resolution at the micron level from neonatal to adult rodent hearts. Our study fills a gap in investigating the intricate myocardial microstructures, such as trabeculation, inside the intact ventricles, with high spatial resolution.This imaging strategy provides an entry point to assess microstructure without physical slicing, leading to an enhanced understanding of cardiac development and remodeling. We will concentrate on exploring the structural changes of the myocardium in response to cardiac injury and remodeling.

LSM has been demonstrated to foster cardiac studies31,32,33,34,35,36,37 due to the minimal risk of photo damage, high spatial resolution, and optical sectioning as opposed to other optical imaging methods such as brightfield and point-scanning techniques6,<...

Read this Scientific Article Protocol about Author Spotlight: Customized Light-Sheet Imaging for Investigating Myocardial Structures in Rodent Hearts at JoVE.com

The protocol utilizes advanced light-sheet microscopy along with adapted tissue clearing methods to investigate intricate cardiac structures in rodent hearts, holding great potential for the understanding of cardiac morphogenesis and remodeling.

Light-sheet microscopy (LSM) plays a pivotal role in comprehending the intricate three-dimensional (3D) structure of the heart, providing crucial insights ...