Imaging large regions of the spinal cord of GFP-M mice
(a) Entire spinal cord of a GFP-M mouse cut into 3- to 4-mm-long segments, cleared and imaged with ultramicroscopy. (b) Drawing of the ultramicroscopy setup showing tissue positioning and the light path. (c) A spinal cord segment (length 4 mm, T12 to L2 spine level) of a GFP-M mouse scanned with ultramicroscopy shown in a horizontal view. (d) Cross-view projection (50-µm thickness) of the indicated region in c. White arrows in c,d mark individual axons in the white matter; red arrows mark cell bodies in the gray matter. (e) Traced white and gray matter boundaries and axon bundles (yellow arrows).
阿尔兹海默症(AD)是一种起病隐匿的进行性发展的神经系统退行性疾病。临床上以记忆障碍、失语、失用、失认、视空间技能损坏、执行功能障碍以及人格和行为改变等全面性痴呆表现为特征,细胞外β淀粉样蛋白沉积和细胞内tau蛋白磷酸化是AD的主要病理特征。Liebmann等人利用iDISCO技术对阿尔兹海默症模型小鼠脑进行透明化阐明了β淀粉样蛋白沉积和小胶质细胞及脉管系统之间的空间分布关系,这将对阿尔兹海默症的科学研究和治疗产生重大意义。
Double Labeling of β-Amyloid Plaques and Reactive Microgliosis, Axonal Dystrophy, or Vasculature in Cleared AD Brains with Volume Imaging
(A)confocal image of β-amyloid plaques and cell nuclei double staining in a 17-month-old2xTg AD cleared mouse brain. (B) Confocal optical slices of microglia stained with anti-Iba1 antibody. (C) 3D surface rendering of four isolated β-amyloid plaques and neighboring microglia cells from the AD brain described in (B). (D)Maximum intensity projection of β-amyloid plaques and neuro filament H staining in a10-month-old 2xTgAD cleared mouse cortex(500mmthick). (E)Magnified region from (D) showing labeled axons in absence of β-amyloid plaques. (F) Magnified region from (D) showing dystrophic axons surrounding labeled β-amyloid plaques. (G) Maximum intensity projection of optical section (1mm) from the cortex of an 11-month-old 2xTgAD mouse brain labeled for plaques (anti-b amyloid anti-bodies) and vasculature. (H)Maximum intensity projection of optical section (1mm) from the cortex and hippocampus of an 8-month-old 2xTgAD mouse brain labeled for plaques (Congored) and vasculature.
Chung等人通过CLARITY技术获得透明而完整的小鼠大脑,利用Thy1–eYFP信号实现了对小鼠大脑神经元进行远距离投射、神经回路、细胞关系、亚细胞结构、蛋白质复合物、 核酸和神经递质的成像。展现了大脑中复杂的精细连接和分子结构。
Intact adult mouse brain imaging
a, Cajal quote before CLARITY. b, Cajal quote after CLARITY: Thy1–eYFP line-H mouse brain after hydrogel–tissue hybridization, ETC and refractive-index matching. c, Fluorescence image of brain depicted in b. d, Dorsal aspect is imaged, then brain is inverted and ventral aspect imaged. e, Three-dimensional rendering of clarified brain imaged;f, Non sectioned mouse brain tissue showing cortex, hippocampus and thalamus;g–l, Optical sections from f showing negligible resolution;m, Cross-section of axons in clarified Thy1–channelrhodopsin2 (ChR2)–eYFP striatum;n, Dendrites and spines of neurons in clarified Thy1–eYFP line-H cortex.
MURAKAMI等人应用CUBIC-X透明并膨大小鼠大脑,在亚细胞水平对整个小鼠大脑进行成像,并绘制出了一张小鼠大脑图谱。他们采用化学方法标记了大脑中的每个细胞,然后在大脑透明化的同时将其尺寸扩大了十倍,利用精密成像技术对神经元进行了三维重建,总计约7200万个细胞。
Construction of a single-cell-resolution mouse brain atlas (CUBIC-Atlas)
a, Overview of construction of the CUBIC-Atlas. b, The CUBIC-Atlas. Horizontal, sagittal and coronal view of single-plane images (left) and volume-rendered images (right) of the CUBIC-Atlas. c–j, Major anatomical areas in the CUBIC-Atlas. k, Overview of whole-brain cell counting in C57BL/6N 8-week-old male mice. l, Cell numbers in each brain area.
参考文献:
1. Ertürk A, Mauch CP, Hellal F, Förstner F, Keck T, Becker K, Jährling N, Steffens H, Richter M, Hübener M, Kramer E, Kirchhoff F, Dodt HU, Bradke F. Three-dimensional imaging of the unsectioned adult spinal cord to assess axon regeneration and glial responses after injury. Nat Med. 2011 Dec 25;18(1):166-71. doi: 10.1038/nm.2600. PMID: 22198277.