Two-photon laser-scanning microscopy for single and repetitive imaging of dorsal and lateral spinal white matter in vivo.

摘要

We developed appropriate surgical procedures for single andrepetitive multi-photon imaging of spinal cord in vivo . Byintravenous anesthesia, artificial ventilation and laminectomy,acute experiments were performed in the dorsal and lateral whitematter. By volatile anesthesia and minimal-invasive surgery,chronic repetitive imaging up to 8 months was performed in thedorsal column through the window between two adjacent spines.Transgenic mouse technology enabled simultaneous imaging oflabeled axons, astrocytes and microglia. Repetitive imagingshowed positional shifts of microglia over time. These techniquesserve for investigations of cellular dynamics and cell-cellinteractions in intact and pathologically changed spinal tissue.