Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 24, 2025
10:39
Contrast Imaging in Mouse Embryos Using High-frequency Ultrasound
Published on: March 4, 2015
15.7K
Intravital imaging of mouse embryos
Qiang Huang1,2, Malkiel A Cohen3, Fernando C Alsina4
1Department of Pediatric Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. drhuang@xjtu.edu.cn jaenisch@wi.mit.edu xs37@duke.edu.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|April 11, 2020
Summary
Researchers developed a novel intravital window for live mouse embryo imaging, enabling detailed observation of embryonic development and cell behaviors from day 9.5 to birth.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Microscopy
- Genetics
Background:
- Embryonic development is difficult to observe directly.
- Understanding early developmental processes requires advanced imaging techniques.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a novel intravital window for high-resolution, real-time imaging of mouse embryonic development.
- To observe dynamic cellular and physiological processes during embryogenesis.
Main Methods:
- Implantation of a removable intravital window into the mouse uterus for direct embryo visualization.
- High-resolution live imaging from embryonic day 9.5 to birth.
- Combination of imaging with in utero electroporation for cell tracking and interspecies chimera studies.
Main Results:
- Observed transient neurotransmission and neural crest cell (NCC)-derived perivascular cell vascularization in the brain.
- Visualized autophagy in the retina, viral gene delivery, and placental chemical diffusion.
- Demonstrated differential expansion of mouse versus human NCC-derived cells in interspecies chimeras.
Conclusions:
- The intravital window technique provides unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution for studying embryonic development.
- This method facilitates the investigation of cellular dynamics, gene delivery, and developmental processes in vivo.
- The technique is versatile and can be combined with various microscopy and manipulation methods for comprehensive developmental studies.
