Intravital Microscopy of Mesenteric and Brain Vessels: A Valuable Tool for Leukocyte Recruitment Evaluation

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is the most serious complication limiting the clinical utility of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), in which lymphocytes of donors (graft) are activated in response to the host antigen. This disease is related to increased inflammatory response through releasing inflammatory mediators and recruiting defense cells, such as leukocytes. Intravital microscopy is a technique that allows the observation of leukocyte interactions in vivo. It can be performed using conventional light microscopy in thin and transparent tissues or epifluorescence microscopy in solid and non-transparent tissues. Here, we describe the procedure to execute this method at the mesenteric and brain vessels of mice subjected to GVHD.