Name: in vivo vascular injury readouts in mouse retina to promote reproducibility
Uploaded: 2022-04-21T13:50:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about In Vivo Vascular Injury Readouts in Mouse Retina to Promote Reproducibility at JoVE.com

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF-GRFP) grant DGE - 1644869(to CKCO), the National Eye Institute (NEI) 5T32EY013933 (to AMP), the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (RO1 NS081333, R03 NS099920 to CMT), and the Department of Defense Army/Air Force (DURIP to CMT).

This protocol follows the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) statement for the use of animals in ophthalmic and vision research. Rodent experiments were approved and monitored by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) of Columbia University.
NOTE: Imaging was done on 2 month old C57BL/6J male mice that weighed approximately 23 g.
1. Preparation of reagents for retinal imaging
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	<li>Preparation of injec...

<ol>
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Noninvasive rodent retinal imaging presents an avenue to study pathology and develop interventions. Previous studies have developed and optimized a mouse model of RVO, limiting variability and allowing for reliable translation of common clinical pathologies in the murine retina5,7,13. Developments in ophthalmic imaging technology further allow for the use of clinical in vivo imaging techniques such as FA and OCT in expe...

Neurovascular disease is a major healthcare problem responsible for ischemic strokes, a leading cause of mortality and morbidity, and retinal vascular diseases that lead to vision loss1,2. To model neurovascular disease, we employ a mouse model of retinal vein occlusion (RVO). This model is noninvasive and utilizes similar in vivo imaging techniques to those used to examine people with retinal vascular disease in a clinical setting. The use of this model thus increases the translational potential of studies utilizing this model. As with all mouse models, it is critical to maximize reproducibility of the model.
Retinal vascular diseases are a major cause of vision loss in people under the age of 70. RVO is the second most common retinal vascular disease after diabetic retinopathy3. Clinical features characteristic of RVO include ischemic injury, retinal edema, and vision loss as a consequence of neuronal loss3,4. Mouse models of RVO using laser photocoagulation of major vessels have been developed and refined to replicate key clinical pathologies observed in human RVO5,6,7. Advancements in ophthalmic imaging also allow for replication of noninvasive diagnostic tools used in humans, namely, fluorescein angiography (FA) and optical coherence tomography (OCT)6. Fluorescein Angiography allows for the observation of leakage due to the breakdown of the blood-retinal barrier (BRB) as well as blood flow dynamics in the retina, including sites of occlusion, using the injection of fluorescein, a small fluorescent dye8,9. OCT imaging allows for the acquisition of high-resolution cross-sectional images of the retina and the study of the thickness and organization of retinal layers10. Analysis of FA images has historically been largely qualitative, which limits the potential for direct and reproducible comparison between studies. Recently, a number of methods have been developed for the quantification of layer thickness in OCT imaging, though there is currently no standardized analysis protocol and the site of OCT image acquisition varies11. In order to properly leverage these tools, standardized, quantitative, and replicable data analysis methodology are needed. In this paper, we present three such vascular readouts used to evaluate pathological damage in a mouse model of RVO-fluorescein leakage, OCT layer thickness, and disorganization of retinal layers.

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			<td>AK-Fluor 10%</td>
			<td>Akorn</td>
			<td>NDC: 17478-253-10</td>
			<td>light-sensitive</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Carprofen</td>
			<td>Rimadyl</td>
			<td>NADA #141-199</td>
			<td>keep at 4 &#176;C</td>
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		<tr>
			<td>GenTeal</td>
			<td>Alcon</td>
			<td>00658 06401</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Image J</td>
			<td>NIH</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>InSight 2D</td>
			<td>Phoenix Technology Group</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>OCT analysis software</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ketamine Hydrochloride</td>
			<td>Henry Schein</td>
			<td>NDC: 11695-0702-1</td>
			<td></td>
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			<td>Phenylephrine</td>
			<td>Akorn</td>
			<td>NDCL174478-201-15</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Phoenix Micron IV</td>
			<td>Phoenix Technology Group</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Retinal imaging microscope</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Phoenix Micron Meridian Module</td>
			<td>Phoenix Technology Group</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Laser photocoagulator software</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Phoenix Micron Optical Coherence Tomography Module</td>
			<td>Phoenix Technology Group</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>OCT imaging software</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Phoenix Micron StreamPix Module</td>
			<td>Phoenix Technology Group</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Fundus imaging and acquisition targeting</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Photoshop</td>
			<td>Adobe</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
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			<td>Refresh</td>
			<td>Allergan</td>
			<td>94170</td>
			<td></td>
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			<td>Tropicamide</td>
			<td>Akorn</td>
			<td>NDC: 174478-102-12</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Xylazine</td>
			<td>Akorn</td>
			<td>NDCL 59399-110-20</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

in vivo vascular injury readouts in mouse retina to promote reproducibility

Advancements in ophthalmic imaging tools offer an unprecedented level of access to researchers working with animal models of neurovascular injury. To properly leverage this greater translatability, there is a need to devise reproducible methods of drawing quantitative data from these images. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging can resolve retinal histology at micrometer resolution and reveal functional differences in vascular blood flow. Here, we delineate noninvasive vascular readouts that we use to characterize pathological damage post vascular insult in an optimized mouse model of retinal vein occlusion (RVO). These readouts include live imaging analysis of retinal morphology, disorganization of retinal inner layers (DRIL) measure of capillary ischemia, and fluorescein angiography measures of retinal edema and vascular density. These techniques correspond directly to those used to examine patients with retinal disease in the clinic. Standardizing these methods enables direct and reproducible comparison of animal models with clinical phenotypes of ophthalmic disease, increasing the translational power of vascular injury models.

These analysis methods allow for the quantification of retinal pathology captured by FA and OCT imaging. The experiments from which the representative data is extracted used C57BL/6J male mice who either served as uninjured controls or underwent the RVO procedure and received either Pen1-XBir3 treatment eyedrops or Pen1-Saline vehicle eyedrops. The RVO injury model involved the laser irradiation (532 nm) of the major veins in each eye of an anesthetized mouse following a tail-vein injection of rose bengal, a photoactivat...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about In Vivo Vascular Injury Readouts in Mouse Retina to Promote Reproducibility at JoVE.com

In Vivo Vascular Injury Readouts in Mouse Retina to Promote Reproducibility

Here, we present three data analysis protocols for fluorescein angiography (FA) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) images in the study of Retinal Vein Occlusion (RVO).

In Vivo Vascular Injury Readouts in Mouse Retina to Promote Reproducibility

Advancements in ophthalmic imaging tools offer an unprecedented level of access to researchers working with animal models of neurovascular injury. To ...

This protocol allows the user to quantitatively measure clinically analogous markers of damage in mouse retinal imaging, which bolsters the translatability of subsequent findings. These methods allow us to streamline analysis and give us the ability to reliably compare imaging between experimental animals. While these methods were developed to study a mouse model overview, they can easily extend to research on any retinal diseases that use the same imaging techniques.Turn the retinal imaging microscope light box, the optical coherence tomography machine, and the heated mouse platform on. Turn the computer on and open the imaging program. Add one drop of phenylephrine and tropicamide to each eye.Inject 100 microliters of 1%fluorescein intraperitoneal. Accommodate the mouse on the platform. Adjust the height and angle of the platform until the view of the retinal fundus is clear and focused.Take a picture of the fundus. Open the imaging and optical coherence tomography software. In the optical coherence tomography program adjust nudge to 10.Take an optical coherence tomography image, add 75 micrometers distal from the burn. Repeat for the other three quadrants of the retina. Switch the camera to a 488 nanometer filter.Increase the camera gain to 5. Take a picture of the fundus exactly 5 minutes after fluorescein injection. Open the fluorescein image on the image processing software.Duplicate the image. Using a selection tool, carefully trace the major vessels. Ignore any vessels branching out from these vessels.In the first image, delete the selection, leaving only the vessel. Save this masked image. Move the selection to the second image, invert the selection and delete, isolating the background.Save this masked image. Open the background image and measure the integrated density. Open the vessels image, select the outline of the vessels, and then measure the mean intensity.Divide the integrated density of the background by the mean intensity of the vessels, generating the leakage ratio for the eye. Record this leakage ratio for each eye in an experimental cohort. To further control for background, normalize experimental eyes to the mean leakage ratio of uninjured control eyes.Open the optical coherence tomography image in the image processing software. Trace the borders of the ganglion cell layer, inner plexiform layer, inner nuclear layer, outer plexiform layer, photoreceptor layer, and RPE layer. Export the files as CSV.Measure the mean thickness of each layer and repeat for each eye in the experimental cohort. Open the optical coherence tomography image in image J.Using the line tool, measure the distance where the upper border of the outer plexiform layer is indistinct. Measure horizontally, maintaining the latitude where the disorganization begins.Calculate the sum of the disorganized distances in the image. Divide the length of disorganization by the total length of the retina to obtain the ratio of disorganization. Repeat the measurement and calculation for optical coherence tomography images from the other three quadrants of the retina.Take the mean of the ratios of disorganization from the four optical coherence tomography images. This number represents the average disorganization for the whole retina. Repeat for each eye in the experimental cohort.The masked images used for the calculation of ratio of leakage for each retina image can be compared to others and analyzed, separating the major vasculature from other areas of the retina. Fluorescein quantification allows for the comparison of injury severity and treatment efficacy as well as the study of changes in leakage over the injury time course. A delineation of the layers of the retina in an OCT image is observed.The quantification of thickness for each retinal layer shows that the initial edematous response has a more profound effect on the internal retinal layers. From an analysis of a time course of retinal vein occlusion damage, the initial inflammatory swelling of retinal layers, and the eventual degenerative thinning can be observed. The inner nuclear layer experiences a much greater response to the initial injury, but the inner plexiform layer demonstrates more severe thinning after the initial edema has been stabilized and returns to baseline.The disorganization of inner retinal layer manifests as a disappearance of the upper boundary of the outer plexiform layer, blending the outer plexiform and inner nuclear layers together. The retinal disorganization of two experimental groups were compared to investigate the efficacy of an inhibitor in mitigating retinal damage. Image quality is vitally important to analysis quality.When acquiring retinal images, take the time to ensure that the fundus and retinal layers are as clear and focused as possible. These non-invasive methods can be used longitudinally and in conjunction with biochemical and immunohistochemical study of tissue to create more multifaceted and detailed profiles of disease. This technique enables the reliable quantification of in Vivo retinal imaging data in models of neurovascular disease so that data can be more readily translated to human disease.

Research

JoVE Journal

Neuroscience

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