Characterization of eosinophilic esophagitis murine models using optical coherence tomography

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Gastroenterology
• Biomedical Imaging

Background:

• Pre-clinical murine models are essential for studying immune-mediated disorders like eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE).
• Understanding EoE pathophysiology requires advanced imaging techniques to visualize esophageal structural changes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the capability of optical coherence tomography (OCT) in characterizing a murine model of EoE-like disease.
• To quantitatively assess esophageal structural alterations and monitor food impaction sites in EoE models using OCT.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a 3D OCT system with 5 µm axial and 10 µm transverse resolution for ex vivo esophageal imaging.
• Acquired esophageal images from wild-type (Tslpr(+/+) ) and mutant (Tslpr(-/-) ) mice with EoE-like disease.
• Quantitatively evaluated structural changes and monitored food impaction sites in diseased murine esophagus.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated OCT's effectiveness as a label-free imaging tool for EoE murine models.
• OCT successfully visualized and quantified structural changes in the esophagus of mice with EoE-like disease.
• Identified and monitored food impaction sites within the esophagus of diseased mice using OCT.

Conclusions:

• OCT is a valuable tool for characterizing murine models of eosinophilic esophagitis.
• The label-free nature of OCT avoids tissue-processing artifacts, providing accurate structural insights.
• OCT enables effective monitoring of key pathological features in EoE models, aiding research into immune-mediated esophageal disorders.