Imaging windows for long-term intravital imaging

摘要

Intravital microscopy is increasingly used to visualize and quantitate dynamic biological processes at the (sub)cellular level in live animals. By visualizing tissues through imaging windows, individual cells (e.g., cancer, host, or stem cells) can betracked and studied over a time-span of days to months. Several imaging windows have been developed to access tissues including the brain, superficial fascia, mammary glands, liver, kidney, pancreas, and small intestine among others. Here, we review thedevelopment of imaging windows and compare the most commonly used long-term imaging windows for cancer biology: the cranial imaging window, the dorsal skin fold chamber, the mammary imaging window, and the abdominal imaging window. Moreover, we providetechnical details, considerations, and trouble-shooting tips on the surgical procedures and microscopy setups for each imaging window and explain different strategies to assure imaging of the same area over multiple imaging sessions. This review aims tobe a useful resource for establishing the long-term intravital imaging procedure.