Thrombus formation induced by laser in a mouse model

Animal models are used for the development of techniques and/or models that aid the study of thrombosis pathophysiology. The aim of the present study was to modify the technique of in vivo thrombosis induction to make it more accessible. BALB/c mice were intraperitoneally anesthetized with 0.4 ml 2,2,2-tribromoethanol (266.6 mg/kg) and xylazine (13.3 mg/kg), whilst maintaining stable blood pressure and temperature. Through abdominal surgery, the mesentery was identified and isolated for the visualization of the arteries. A simple epifluorescence magnifier was used to detect the presence of thrombi. The results obtained indicate that using rose bengal at concentrations of 25 and 50 mg/kg and a laser power of 5 mW, thrombus formation occurred. In addition, formation of the thrombus occurred ~30 min following induction and the thrombus had a total area of 4,878.3 μm², which caused total occlusion of the mesenteric artery. For visualization, platelets were labeled with calcein acetyloxymethyl ester for 1 h, which resulted in improved observation of thrombus formation in real time. Therefore, this technique may be used to perform in vivo studies simply and at low cost, and is suitable for use in a variety of studies of thrombosis.