Name: measurement of strial blood flow in mouse cochlea utilizing an open vessel-window and intravital fluorescence microscopy
Uploaded: 2021-09-21T13:30:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Measurement of Strial Blood Flow in Mouse Cochlea Utilizing an Open Vessel-Window and Intravital Fluorescence Microscopy at JoVE.com

This research was supported by NIH/NIDCD R21 DC016157 (X.Shi), NIH/NIDCD R01 DC015781 (X.Shi), NIH/NIDCD R01-DC010844 (X.Shi),&#160;and Medical Research Foundation from Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) (X.Shi).

NOTE: This is a non-survival surgery. All procedures involving the use of animals were reviewed and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at Oregon Health &#38; Science University (IACUC approval number: TR01_IP00000968).
1. Preparation of the fluorescent-labeled blood cells
<ol>
	<li>Anesthetize the donor mice (male C57BL/6J mice aged ~6 weeks) with an intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of ketamine/xylazine anesthetic solution (5 mL/kg, see the Table of Materials...

<ol>
	<li>Shi, X. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Physiopathology+of+the+cochlear+microcirculation.">Physiopathology of the cochlear microcirculation.</a> Hearing Research. 282 (1), 10-24 (2011).</li><li>Brown, J. N., Miller, J. M., Nuttall, A. L. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Age-related+changes+in+cochlear+vascular+conductance+in+mice.">Age-related changes in cochlear vascular conductance in mice.</a> Hearing Research. 86 (1), 189-194 (1995).</li><li>Gratton, M. A., Schmiedt, R. A., Schulte, B. 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L. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Techniques+for+the+observation+and+measurement+of+red+blood+cell+velocity+in+vessels+of+the+guinea+pig+cochlea.">Techniques for the observation and measurement of red blood cell velocity in vessels of the guinea pig cochlea.</a> Hearing Research. 27 (2), 111-119 (1987).</li><li>Nuttall, A. 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This paper demonstrates how capillaries in the cochlear lateral wall (and in the stria vascularis) of a mouse model can be visualized with fluorophore labeling in an open vessel-window preparation under a FIVM system. Mouse model is widely used and preferred as a mammalian model for investigating&#160; human health and disease. The protocol described here is a feasible approach for imaging and investigating CoBF in the mouse lateral wall (particularly in the stria vascularis) using an open vessel-window under FIVM system...

Normal function of the microcirculation in the lateral cochlear wall (comprising the majority of the capillaries in the spiral ligament and stria vascularis) is critically important for maintaining hearing function1. Abnormal CoBF is implicated in the pathophysiology of many inner ear disorders including noise-induced hearing loss, ear hydrops, and presbycusis2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9.&#160;Visualization of intravital CoBF will enable a better understanding of the links between hearing function and cochlear vascular pathology.
Although the complexity and location of the cochlea within the temporal bone precludes direct visualization and measurement of CoBF, various methods have been developed for the assessment of CoBF including laser-doppler flowmetry (LDF)10,11,12, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)13, fluorescence intravital microscopy (FIVM)14, fluorescence microendoscopy (FME)15, endoscopic laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI)16, and approaches based on the injection of labeled markers and radioactively tagged microspheres into the bloodstream (optical microangiography, OMAG)17,18,19,20. However, none of these methods has enabled absolute real-time tracking of changes in CoBF in vivo, with the exception of FIVM. FIVM, in combination with a vessel-window in the lateral cochlear wall, is an approach that has been used and validated in guinea pig under different experimental conditions by various laboratories14,21,22.
An FIVM method was successfully established for studying the structural and functional changes in the cochlear microcirculation in mouse using fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-dextran as a contrast medium and a fluorescence dye-either DiO (3, 3&#8242;-dioctadecyloxacarbocyanine perchlorate, green) or Dil (1,1-dioctadecyl-3,3,3,3-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate, red)-for prelabeling blood cells, visualizing vessels, and tracking blood flow velocity. In the present study, the protocol of this method has been described for imaging and quantifying changes in CoBF in mouse under normal and pathological conditions (such as after noise exposure). This technique gives the researcher the tools needed to investigate the underlying mechanisms of CoBF related to hearing dysfunction and pathology in the stria vascularis, especially when applied in conjunction with readily available transgenic mouse models.

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		<tr>
			<td>0.9% Sodium Chloride</td>
			<td>Hospira</td>
			<td>NDC 0409-1966-02</td>
			<td>0.6 mL (for 1 mL)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>1,1&#8242;-Dioctadecyl-3,3,3&#8242;,3&#8242;-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>468495</td>
			<td>20 &#181;M</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>3,3&#8242;-Dioctadecyloxacarbocyanine perchlorateDio (3,3&#8242;-Dioctadecyloxacarbocyanine perchlorate</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>D4292</td>
			<td>20 &#181;M</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>CODA Monitor system</td>
			<td>Kent scientific</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>CODA Monitor, for monitoring blood pressure and heartbeat</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Coverslip</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>12-542A</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>DC Temperature Controller</td>
			<td>FHC</td>
			<td>40-90-8D</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fiji/ImageJ</td>
			<td>NIH</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Measurement of vessel diameter</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>FITC-dextran (2000 kDa)</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>FD2000s</td>
			<td>40 mg/mL</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Heparin Sodium Injection, USP MDV</td>
			<td>Mylan</td>
			<td>NDC 67457-374-12</td>
			<td>5000 USP units/mL</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Katathesia (100 mg/mL)</td>
			<td>Henry Schein</td>
			<td>NDC 11695-0702-1</td>
			<td>0.2 mL (for 1 mL)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Microscope Objective</td>
			<td>Mitutoyo</td>
			<td>378-823-5</td>
			<td>Model: M Plan Apo NIR 10x</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>ORCA-ER Camera</td>
			<td>Hamamatsu</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Model: C4742-80-12AG</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>PBS</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>2085387</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Xyzaine (100 mg/ml, 5x diluted for use )</td>
			<td>Lloyd</td>
			<td>LPFL04821</td>
			<td>0.2 mL (for 1 mL)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Zoom Stereo Microscope</td>
			<td>Olympus</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Model: SZ61, fluorescent microscope</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

measurement of strial blood flow in mouse cochlea utilizing an open vessel-window and intravital fluorescence microscopy

Transduction of sound is metabolically demanding, and the normal function of the microvasculature in the lateral wall is critical for maintaining endocochlear potential, ion transport, and fluid balance. Different forms of hearing disorders are reported to involve abnormal microcirculation in the cochlea. Investigation of how cochlear blood flow (CoBF) pathology affects hearing function is challenging due to the lack of feasible interrogation methods and the difficulty in accessing the inner ear. An open vessel-window in the lateral cochlear wall, combined with fluorescence intravital microscopy, has been used for studying CoBF changes in vivo, but mostly in guinea pig and only recently in the mouse. This paper and the associated video describe the open vessel-window method for visualizing blood flow in the mouse cochlea. Details include 1) preparation of the fluorescent-labeled blood cell suspension from mice; 2) construction of an open vessel-window for intravital microscopy in an anesthetized mouse, and 3) measurement of blood flow velocity and volume using an offline recording of the imaging. The method is presented in video format to show how to use the open window approach in mouse to investigate structural and functional changes in the cochlear microcirculation under normal and pathological conditions.

After surgical exposure of the cochlear capillaries in the lateral wall (Figure 1), intravital high-resolution fluorescence microscopic observation of Dil-labeled blood cells in FITC-dextran-labeled vessels was feasible through an open vessel-window. Figure 2A is a representative image taken under FIVM that shows the capillaries of the mouse cochlear apex-middle turn lateral wall. The lumina of these vessels is made visible by th...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Measurement of Strial Blood Flow in Mouse Cochlea Utilizing an Open Vessel-Window and Intravital Fluorescence Microscopy at JoVE.com

Measurement of Strial Blood Flow in Mouse Cochlea Utilizing an Open Vessel-Window and Intravital Fluorescence Microscopy

An open vessel-window approach using fluorescent tracers provides sufficient resolution for cochlear blood flow (CoBF) measurement. The method facilitates the study of structural and functional changes in CoBF in mouse under normal and pathological conditions.

Transduction of sound is metabolically demanding, and the normal function of the microvasculature in the lateral wall is critical for maintaining ...

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