6533b7ddfe1ef96bd12753e3
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Hierarchical imaging and computational analysis of three-dimensional vascular network architecture in the entire postnatal and adult mouse brain
Regula WälchliArttu MiettinenArttu MiettinenArttu MiettinenPhilippe P. MonnierAlexandra Ulmann-schulerPeter CarmelietJeroen BisschopThomas KruckerJohannes VogelMarco StampanoniMarco StampanoniEric P. MeyerChristoph HintermüllerThomas Wälchlisubject
Vessel networkBiochemistry & Molecular BiologyBrain developmentBrain vasculatureScanning electron microscopeComputer sciencePoint densityCentral nervous systemVascular volumeGenetics and Molecular BiologyINTUSSUSCEPTIVE ANGIOGENESISINHIBITS TUMOR-GROWTHTortuosityBiochemical Research MethodsSCANNING-ELECTRON-MICROSCOPYGeneral Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular BiologyBLOOD-VESSELSSPROUTING ANGIOGENESIS10180 Clinic for NeurosurgeryNEUROVASCULAR UNIT1300 General Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biologymedicine10237 Institute of Biomedical EngineeringComputational analysisAdult stageMICROVASCULAR NETWORKSIntussusceptive angiogenesisSprouting angiogenesisScience & TechnologySTRUCTURAL ADAPTATIONCOCHLEAR VASCULATUREMOLECULAR-MECHANISMS10177 Dermatology Clinic10081 Institute of Veterinary Physiology10124 Institute of Molecular Life SciencesVessel diametermedicine.anatomical_structureVascular network10036 Medical ClinicGeneral Biochemistry570 Life sciences; biologyLife Sciences & BiomedicinePerfusionBiomedical engineeringdescription
The formation of new blood vessels and the establishment of vascular networks are crucial during brain development, in the adult healthy brain, as well as in various diseases of the central nervous system. Here, we describe a step-by-step protocol for our recently developed method that enables hierarchical imaging and computational analysis of vascular networks in postnatal and adult mouse brains. The different stages of the procedure include resin-based vascular corrosion casting, scanning electron microscopy, synchrotron radiation and desktop microcomputed tomography imaging, and computational network analysis. Combining these methods enables detailed visualization and quantification of the 3D brain vasculature. Network features such as vascular volume fraction, branch point density, vessel diameter, length, tortuosity and directionality as well as extravascular distance can be obtained at any developmental stage from the early postnatal to the adult brain. This approach can be used to provide a detailed morphological atlas of the entire mouse brain vasculature at both the postnatal and the adult stage of development. Our protocol allows the characterization of brain vascular networks separately for capillaries and noncapillaries. The entire protocol, from mouse perfusion to vessel network analysis, takes ~10 d. This protocol uses vascular corrosion casting, hierarchical synchrotron radiation microcomputed tomography imaging and computational image analysis to assess the 3D vascular network architecture in the entire postnatal and adult mouse brain.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-10-01 |