Microvascular Perfusion Monitored by Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging during Renal Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Mice

Laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) is a non-invasive technique for measuring superficial blood perfusion over large areas. With its high spatiotemporal resolution, LSCI semi-quantifies heterogeneous blood flow changes across different regions within the imaged area. Here, we demonstrate the technique of LSCI to record blood flow during unilateral renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) in mice. Following right nephrectomy, the position of the mouse and the focal point of the objective of the LSCI system were adjusted to ensure the left kidney was in the field of view. LSCI scans were performed before, during, and after the ischemia of the kidney. Furthermore, by selecting regions of interest (ROIs), blood flow in the regions was simultaneously monitored. The method of LSCI visualizes microvascular perfusion of the kidney and allows for a real-time mapping of blood flow. It may be utilized to monitor the microvascular blood flow and evaluate the effect of an intervention on the reperfusion kinetics and spatial homogeneity during mouse renal IRI or other similar animal models.