zWEDGI: Wounding and Entrapment Device for Imaging Live Zebrafish Larvae.

Area of Science:

• Developmental Biology
• Regenerative Medicine
• Bioimaging

Background:

• Zebrafish are valuable models for studying wound healing dynamics at cellular resolution.
• Long-term imaging of wound healing is challenging due to temporal scales and limitations of current methods like agarose embedding, which hinder development and regrowth.

Purpose of the Study:

• To engineer a novel device for long-term, high-resolution imaging of zebrafish wound healing.
• To overcome the limitations of traditional larval encapsulation methods that impede development and tissue regeneration.

Main Methods:

• Development of the zebrafish Wounding and Entrapment Device for Growth and Imaging (zWEDGI).
• Utilizing high-resolution microscopy techniques including confocal and second harmonic generation (SHG).
• Comparing larval viability and tail regrowth in zWEDGI versus agarose embedding.

Main Results:

• The zWEDGI device maintained larval viability and improved tail regrowth compared to agarose embedding.
• High-quality SHG images of tail fibers were obtained, comparable to fixed samples, enabling time-lapse data collection.
• The device facilitated long-term (>24 hours) confocal microscopy of caudal fin regeneration.

Conclusions:

• The zWEDGI is an effective tool for long-term, high-resolution imaging of zebrafish wound healing.
• This device supports unrestrained larval development and tissue regrowth, crucial for studying dynamic regenerative processes.
• The zWEDGI is easily modifiable and fabricated, making it accessible for diverse experimental imaging protocols.