Using vital microscopy (tscm) to evaluate living kidneys

Tandem Scanning Confocal Microscopy (TSCM) is a non-invasive form of vital microscopy which can be used to evaluate superficial uriniferous tubules in living kidneys. Because TSCM has a number of advantages over conventional microscopic examination of renal biopsies, the present study was undertaken to determine whether the histopathological images obtained by TSCM can be correlated with post-transplant renal function. The kidneys of New Zealand male rabbits were harvested, flushed in Euro-Collins solution, and stored at 0-2 degrees C for periods of 24, 48, 67 and 72 hours prior to transplantation. As expected, there was a significant deterioration in post-transplant renal function as the kidneys were stored for longer periods of time. TSCM observations of the kidneys prior to their transplantation revealed characteristic histopathological changes of the proximal convoluted tubules which correlated closely with post-transplant renal function. These observations support the proposed use of TSCM in evaluating human donor kidneys prior to their transplantation.