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Updated: May 25, 2026
Generation and 3-Dimensional Quantitation of Arterial Lesions in Mice Using Optical Projection Tomography
Published on: May 26, 2015
Intravascular optical coherence tomography detection of atherosclerosis and inflammation in murine aorta
Satoko Tahara1, Toshifumi Morooka, Zhao Wang
1Harrington McLaughlin Heart and Vascular Institute, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
Objective:
The goal of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of imaging the aorta of apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE(-/-)) mice for the detection of atherosclerosis and macrophages using optical coherence tomography (OCT) compared with histology.
Methods And Results:
Atherosclerosis was induced by high-fat diet in 7-week-old ApoE(-/-) mice for 10 (n=7) and 22 (n=7) weeks. Nine-week-old ApoE(-/-) mice (n=7) fed a standard chow diet were used as controls. OCT images of a 10-mm descending aorta in situ were performed in 4 mice for each, and plaque and macrophages were determined at 0.5-mm intervals. Automated detection and quantification of macrophages were performed independently using a customized algorithm. Coregistered histological cross-sections were stained with hematoxylin-eosin, Mac-3, and von Kossa. Three mice in each group had en face OCT imaging to detect macrophages, which were compared with lipid-positive area with Sudan IV. OCT images were successfully acquired in all mice. OCT and histology were able to discriminate macrophages and plaque among the 3 groups and showed excellent correlation for (1) visual detection of plaque (r=0.98) and macrophages (r=0.93), (2) automated detection and quantification of macrophages by OCT versus Mac-3-positive area (r=0.92), and (3) en face OCT detection of macrophages versus Sudan IV-positive area (r=0.92).
Conclusions:
Murine intra-aortic OCT is feasible and shows excellent correlation with histology for detection of atherosclerotic plaque and macrophages.
