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Morphological and functional characteristics of aging kidneys based on two-photon microscopy in vivo

Shulian Wu1,2, Hengchang Guo2, Hannah Horng2

  • 1Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Photonic Technology, Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Science and Technology for Medicine, College of Photonic and Electronic Engineering, Fujian Normal University, Ministry of Education, Fuzhou, China.

Journal of Biophotonics
|November 6, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Age-related kidney disease causes structural and functional decline. Two-photon microscopy in aging rats revealed significant changes, offering new ways to monitor kidney health and drug efficacy.

Area of Science:

  • Nephrology
  • Gerontology
  • Biomedical Imaging

Background:

  • Age-related kidney disease is a common, chronic condition impacting renal function.
  • Renal insufficiency has broad implications for health, including homeostasis, drug safety, and transplantation.
  • In vivo imaging offers a dynamic approach to studying age-related renal changes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate age-related changes in kidney morphology and function using two-photon microscopy in a rat model.
  • To identify quantitative parameters for evaluating renal aging.
  • To explore the potential of these parameters for monitoring kidney disease and therapeutic responses.

Main Methods:

  • In vivo two-photon microscopy was employed to image aging rat kidneys.
  • Morphological analysis utilized autofluorescence and Hoechst 33342 labeling.
  • Functional assessment involved dextran-based measurements of blood flow and glomerular filtration rate.
  • Histological analysis with Hematoxylin and Eosin served as a comparative method.

Main Results:

  • Significant age-dependent alterations in kidney morphology were observed.
  • Renal functional characteristics, including blood flow and filtration rate, showed deterioration with age.
  • Specific structural parameters (tubular diameter, cell nuclei) correlated with aging.

Conclusions:

  • Age-related changes in renal morphology and function are quantifiable using in vivo two-photon microscopy.
  • Identified parameters serve as potential indicators for assessing age-related renal decline.
  • Combined analysis offers a novel, quantitative method for monitoring kidney health and drug effects.
Keywords:
age-related kidneyrenal functionrenal morphologytwo-photon microscopy

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