0000000000591101
AUTHOR
Juan P. Pratt
Vessel painting of the microcirculation using fluorescent lipophilic tracers
Flexible approaches to defining microvessel morphometry are useful in the study of both acute and chronic structural changes of the microcirculation. In this report, we examined the utility of the intravascular infusion of lipophilic carbocyanine tracers in the structural assessment of the retina, skin, lung, and colon microcirculation. The microvessel labeling technique, here termed fluorescent vessel painting, involved the intravascular injection of sulfonated lipophilic carbocyanine tracers. The utility of vessel painting in morphometry was assessed using morphometric comparisons with corrosion casting and 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional scanning electron microscopy. The comparisons demo…
The murine bronchopulmonary microcirculation in hapten-induced inflammation
ObjectiveThe clinical observation of central bronchial artery hypertrophy in chronic lung inflammation suggests the possibility that the bronchial circulation may also participate in adaptive responses in peripheral lung inflammation.MethodsTo investigate the potential role of the bronchial microcirculation in peripheral lung inflammation, we developed a murine model of lung inflammation using the intratracheal instillation of the peptide-hapten trinitrophenol in presensitized mice.ResultsClinical parameters indicated a peak inflammatory response at 96 hours. Similarly, gross and microscopic evidence of inflammation was observed 96 hours after antigen instillation. Using a forced oscillatio…
Inflammation-responsive focal constrictors in the mouse ear microcirculation
In many capillary exchange beds, blood flow is locally regulated by precapillary sphincter-like activity. In this study, we used intravascular tracers and scanning electron microscopy to investigate precapillary blood flow regulation in the mouse ear. Gelatin ink injections of the normal mouse ear demonstrated 6.8 +/- 2.3 axial vessels with a cutoff of detectable tracer in the early branches: 19 +/- 11 focal constrictions were observed along the 1st to 5th order branches of the axial vessels. A perfusion tracer consisting of biotinylated anti-endothelial lectins (Ricinus Communis Agglutin, Lycopersicon Esculentum and Griffonia Simplicifolia) was circulated for 30 min under physiological con…
Murine Microvideo Endoscopy of the Colonic Microcirculation
Natural orifice endoscopy in small animal models has been limited in the past by instrument size and optical performance. In this report, we investigate the feasibility of using a recently developed microvideo endoscopy system to evaluate the colon microcirculation. Using a murine model of acute colitis, microvideo endoscopy was useful in mapping the topography of inflammation as well as identifying relevant structures in the microcirculation. We conclude that natural orifice endoscopy is a useful method for the minimally invasive longitudinal assessment of the colonic mucosal microcirculation.
Structural adaptations in the murine colon microcirculation associated with hapten-induced inflammation
Objectives: Blood flowing across the vascular endothelium creates wall shear stress, dependent on flow velocity and vessel geometry, that tends to disrupt lymphocyte-endothelial cell adhesion. To identify structural adaptations during acute colitis that may facilitate transmigration, we investigated the microcirculation in a murine model of acute colitis. Methods: In trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS)- induced acute colitis, the infiltrating cells and colonic microcirculation was investigated by cellular topographic mapping as well as corrosion casting and 3- dimensional (3D) scanning electron microscopy. Colonic blood velocimetry was performed using intravital microscopy. Results: Clinica…