In Vivo Quantification of Metastatic Tumor Cell Adhesion in the Pulmonary Microvasculature

In vivo and ex vivo fluorescence video microscopy used to be a well-established method in life science with a variety of applications, such as in inflammation or cancer research. In this book chapter, we describe a model of in vivo fluorescence microscopy of the rat's lung with the exclusive advantage of qualitative and quantitative in vivo analysis of cell adhesion within the complex microenvironment of the ventilated and perfused lung. Observation can include real-time, time-lapse, or fast-motion analysis. In our laboratory, we have used the model for qualitative and quantitative real-time analyses of metastatic colon cancer cell adhesion within the rat's pulmonary microcirculation. Using…