An elegant technique for ex vivo imaging in experimental research-Optical coherence tomography (OCT)

X-ray phase microtomography with a single grating for high-throughput investigations of biological tissue

The high-throughput 3D visualisation of biological specimens is essential for studying diseases and developmental disorders. It requires imaging methods that deliver high-contrast, high-resolution volumetric information at short sample preparation and acquisition times. Here we show that X-ray phase-contrast tomography using a single grating can provide a powerful alternative to commonly employed techniques, such as high-resolution episcopic microscopy (HREM). We present the phase tomography of a mouse embryo in paraffin obtained with an X-ray single-grating interferometer at I13-2 Beamline at Diamond Light Source and discuss the results in comparison with HREM measurements. The excellent contrast and quantitative density information achieved non-destructively and without staining using a simple, robust setup make X-ray single-grating interferometry an optimum candidate for high-throughput imaging of biological specimens as an alternative for existing methods like HREM.

Phenotyping structural abnormalities in mouse embryos using high-resolution episcopic microscopy

The arrival of simple and reliable methods for 3D imaging of mouse embryos has opened the possibility of analysing normal and abnormal development in a far more systematic and comprehensive manner than has hitherto been possible. This will not only help to extend our understanding of normal tissue and organ development but, by applying the same approach to embryos from genetically modified mouse lines, such imaging studies could also transform our knowledge of gene function in embryogenesis and the aetiology of developmental disorders. The International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium is coordinating efforts to phenotype single gene knockouts covering the entire mouse genome, including characterising developmental defects for those knockout lines that prove to be embryonic lethal. Here, we present a pilot study of 34 such lines, utilising high-resolution episcopic microscopy (HREM) for comprehensive 2D and 3D imaging of homozygous null embryos and their wild-type littermates. We present a simple phenotyping protocol that has been developed to take advantage of the high-resolution images obtained by HREM and that can be used to score tissue and organ abnormalities in a reliable manner. Using this approach with embryos at embryonic day 14.5, we show the wide range of structural abnormalities that are likely to be detected in such studies and the variability in phenotypes between sibling homozygous null embryos.