Longitudinal intravital imaging of mouse placenta

Area of Science:

• Reproductive biology
• Medical imaging
• Developmental biology

Background:

• Studying placental functions is vital for understanding pregnancy complications.
• Current imaging techniques face challenges due to placental depth, volume, and motion.
• Advanced imaging methods are needed to visualize placental development in vivo.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate an implantable placenta window for high-resolution imaging of placental development in mice.
• To enable real-time, spatiotemporal investigation of placental functions throughout pregnancy.
• To assess placental responses to various physiological and pathological conditions.

Main Methods:

• Development of an implantable, transparent placenta window for mice.
• Combination of the placenta window with ultrafast functional photoacoustic microscopy.
• Utilizing fluorescence imaging for observing gene delivery and chemical diffusion.

Main Results:

• The placenta window provided excellent transparency for light and sound, enabling high-resolution imaging.
• Detailed spatiotemporal data on placental development were acquired throughout the entire pregnancy.
• Acute responses to alcohol and cardiac arrest, chronic inflammation effects, viral gene delivery, and chemical diffusion were observed.

Conclusions:

• The developed placenta window is a powerful tool for intravital imaging of placental functions.
• This technology facilitates the study of placental origins of adverse pregnancy outcomes.
• It offers unprecedented insights into placental development and responses in vivo.