Vibratome Sectioning of Whole Murine Kidney: A Technique to Generate Thin Sections of Murine Kidney

To prepare thin sections of a mouse kidney, first, obtain a freshly harvested mouse kidney. Transfer the kidney onto a filter paper and dry it to ensure optimal adhesion to the vibratome specimen holder.

Next, mount the kidney, ureter side down, using a thin layer of cyanoacrylate glue applied to the base of the vibratome specimen holder, securing the kidney in an upright position. Transfer the specimen holder onto a buffer tray.

Fill the tray with a suitable buffer to fully immerse the top surface of the kidney. An ice bath surrounds the tray to prevent tissue damage from heat buildup during slicing. Set the vibratome blade to an appropriate angle, speed, and amplitude. Adjust the thickness parameter to obtain tissue sections of desired thickness.

During operation, the blade vibrates laterally and advances, penetrating through the tissue specimen. The vibrating blade allows the sectioning with less pressure and minimizes the tissue deformation, generating uniform kidney tissue sections of interest while maintaining the tissue morphology.

Meanwhile, assemble a multi-well plate containing a suitable chilled buffer solution to mimic the physiological conditions of the tissue. Now, transfer the sliced tissue sections into the buffer. Finally, store the tissue sections at low temperature until further downstream analysis.