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Rat retinal vasomotion assessed by laser speckle imaging
Anastasiia Y Neganova1, Dmitry D Postnov1, Olga Sosnovtseva1
1Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3, 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark.
Plos One
|March 25, 2017
Summary
This study introduces laser speckle imaging to observe vasomotion, the rhythmic changes in blood vessel diameter. The technique successfully captured spontaneous and drug-induced vasomotion patterns in rat retinas.
Area of Science:
- Vascular biology
- Physiology
- Biomedical imaging
Background:
- Vasomotion, rhythmic changes in vascular tone, plays a debated role in physiology and pathophysiology.
- There is a need for in vivo experimental techniques to study vasomotion dynamics.
- Understanding vasomotion is crucial for vascular research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To apply laser speckle imaging (LSI) for studying vasomotion in vivo.
- To investigate spontaneous and drug-induced vasomotion in the retinal vasculature.
- To analyze the dynamical properties of vasomotion patterns.
Main Methods:
- Laser speckle imaging (LSI) was employed to monitor retinal blood flow dynamics.
- Experiments were conducted on anesthetized rats.
- Wavelet-based analysis was used to characterize vasomotion patterns.
Main Results:
- Spontaneous vasomotion was observed in anesthetized rats.
- Systemic administration of U-46619 (thromboxane analogue) induced vasomotion.
- Systemic administration of S-nitroso-acetylDL-penicillamine (SNAP, nitric-oxide donor) also induced vasomotion.
- LSI successfully tracked dynamical changes caused by different vasoactive agents.
Conclusions:
- Laser speckle imaging is a viable technique for in vivo vasomotion studies.
- Spontaneous and drug-induced vasomotion can be quantified in the retinal vasculature.
- The study demonstrates the capability to track dynamic changes in vasomotion irrespective of the underlying cellular pathways.
