101. An In Vivo Duo-color Method for Imaging Vascular Dynamics Following Contusive Spinal Cord Injury
- Author
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Chen, Chen, Zhang, Yi Ping, Sun, Yan, Xiong, Wenhui, Shields, Lisa B. E., Shields, Christopher B., Jin, Xiaoming, and Xu, Xiao-Ming
- Subjects
Male ,Two-photon in vivo imaging ,Issue 130 ,Rats ,Rats, Sprague-Dawley ,Duo-color imaging ,Microscopy, Fluorescence, Multiphoton ,Spinal Cord ,Contusive spinal cord injury ,Vascular dynamics ,Rat ,Animals ,Spinal Cord Injuries ,Neuroscience - Abstract
Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes significant vascular disruption at the site of injury. Vascular pathology occurs immediately after SCI and continues throughout the acute injury phase. In fact, endothelial cells appear to be the first to die after a contusive SCI. The early vascular events, including increased permeability of the blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB), induce vasogenic edema and contribute to detrimental secondary injury events caused by complex injury mechanisms. Targeting the vascular disruption, therefore, could be a key strategy to reduce secondary injury cascades that contribute to histological and functional impairments after SCI. Previous studies were mostly performed on postmortem samples and were unable to capture the dynamic changes of the vascular network. In this study, we have developed an in vivo duo-color two-photon imaging method to monitor acute vascular dynamic changes following contusive SCI. This approach allows detecting blood flow, vessel diameter, and other vascular pathologies at various sites of the same rat pre- and post-injury. Overall, this method provides an excellent venue for investigating vascular dynamics.
- Published
- 2017