Intravital imaging of mouse embryos

Abstract

<jats:p>Embryonic development is a complex process that is unamenable to direct observation. In this study, we implanted a window to the mouse uterus to visualize the developing embryo from embryonic day 9.5 to birth. This removable intravital window allowed manipulation and high-resolution imaging. In live mouse embryos, we observed transient neurotransmission and early vascularization of neural crest cell (NCC)–derived perivascular cells in the brain, autophagy in the retina, viral gene delivery, and chemical diffusion through the placenta. We combined the imaging window with in utero electroporation to label and track cell division and movement within embryos and observed that clusters of mouse NCC-derived cells expanded in interspecies chimeras, whereas adjacent human donor NCC-derived cells shrank. This technique can be combined with various tissue manipulation and microscopy methods to study the processes of development at unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution.</jats:p>

Department

Description

Provenance

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Citation

Published Version (Please cite this version)

10.1126/science.aba0210

Publication Info

Huang, Qiang, Malkiel A Cohen, Fernando C Alsina, Garth Devlin, Aliesha Garrett, Jennifer McKey, Patrick Havlik, Nikolai Rakhilin, et al. (2020). Intravital imaging of mouse embryos. Science, 368(6487). pp. 181–186. 10.1126/science.aba0210 Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/20403.

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Scholars@Duke

Alsina

Fernando Alsina

Research Associate, Senior

I am from Argentina and I did my graduate training in Dr. Gustavo Paratcha´s lab in the Institute of Cellular Biology and Neuroscience “Prof. E. De Robertis” (IBCN) in the University of Buenos Aires (UBA – CONICET), Argentina. My PhD thesis focused on the negative regulation of neurotrophic factor receptor signaling in developing neurons.
Personal Interests: In my free time I really enjoy hiking, playing soccer, going out with friends and family, traveling around, reading and watching series and movies.

Kirsch

David Guy Kirsch

Adjunct Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology

My clinical interests are the multi-modality care of patients with bone and soft tissue sarcomas and developing new sarcoma therapies. My laboratory interests include utilizing mouse models of cancer to study cancer and radiation biology in order to develop new cancer therapies in the pre-clinical setting.

Kang

Yubin Kang

Professor of Medicine
Capel

Blanche Capel

James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Cell Biology

In mammals, the primary step in male sex determination is the initiation of testis development in the bipotential gonad primordium. This step depends on the Y-linked male sex-determining gene, Sry. Expression of Sry in the XY gonad, or as a transgene in an XX gonad, leads to the differentiation of Sertoli cells. Failures in Sertoli cell differentiation in the XY gonad result in sex reversal and ovary formation. In addition to Sertoli cell differentiation, we are studying the signaling pathways between Sry expression and early steps in testis organogenesis using mouse as a model system. Using genetic and cell biology approaches, we determined the origin of several key cell types of the testis. We also identified two pathways, proliferation and cell migration, that are controlled by Sry and lead to the architectural patterning of the testis. Currently we are investigating the novel hypothesis that reciprocal signals between the vasculature and Sertoli cells are involved in patterning testis cords. Testis organogenesis is an ideal model system to study the integration of vasculature during development of organ structure. In addition, we are investigating critical signals between Sertoli cells and germ cells during testis cord formation. Defects in these signals result in teratomas and gonadal blastomas, common neoplasias in young boys. Experimental approaches include the use of molecular and biochemical techniques, mutant mice, transgenics, organ culture assays, differential screens, immunocytochemistry imaging techniques, and classic mouse genetics.

Asokan

Aravind Asokan

Professor in Surgery

Synthetic Virology & Gene Therapy

Silver

Debra Lynn Silver

Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology

How is the brain assembled and sculpted during embryonic development?  Addressing this question has enormous implications for understanding neurodevelopmental disorders affecting brain size and function. In evolutionary terms, our newest brain structure is the cerebral cortex, which drives higher cognitive capacities. The overall mission of my research lab is to elucidate genetic and cellular mechanisms controlling cortical development and contributing to neurodevelopmental pathologies and brain evolution. We study neural progenitors, essential cells which generate neurons and are the root of brain development. We are guided by the premise that the same mechanisms at play during normal development were co-opted during evolution and when dysregulated, can cause neurodevelopmental disease.

My research program employs a multifaceted strategy to bridge developmental neurobiology, RNA biology, and evolution. 1) We investigate how cell fates are specified, by studying how progenitor divisions influence development and disease.  2) We study diverse layers of post-transcriptional regulation in neural progenitors. We investigate RNA binding proteins implicated in development and neurological disease. Using live imaging, we also investigate how sub-cellular control of mRNA localization and translation influences neural progenitors. 3) A parallel research focus is to understand how human-specific genetic changes influence species-specific brain development. Our goal is to integrate our efforts across these three major lines of research to understand the intricacies controlling brain development.

Shen

Xiling Shen

Adjunct Professor in the Department of Pathology

Dr. Shen’s research interests lie at precision medicine and systems biology. His lab integrates engineering, computational and biological techniques to study cancer, stem cells, microbiota and the nervous system in the gut. This multidisciplinary work has been instrumental in initiating several translational clinical trials in precision therapy. He is the director of the Woo Center for Big Data and Precision Health (DAP) and a core member of the Center for Genomics and Computational Biology (GCB).


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