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World J Gastroenterol. Jan 14, 2007; 13(2): 192-218
Published online Jan 14, 2007. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v13.i2.192
Advances in small animal mesentery models for in vivo flow cytometry, dynamic microscopy, and drug screening
Ekaterina I Galanzha, Valery V Tuchin, Vladimir P Zharov
Ekaterina I Galanzha, Vladimir P Zharov, Philips Classic Laser Laboratories, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), Little Rock, AR, United States
Ekaterina I Galanzha, Valery V Tuchin, Department of Optics and Biomedical Physics, Research-Educational Institute of Optics and Biophotonics, Saratov State University, Saratov, Russia
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Supported by NIH/NIBIB; No. EB001858, EB-000873, EB005123
Correspondence to: Ekaterina I Galanzha, MD, PhD, DSc, Philips Classic Laser Laboratories, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), 4301 W. Markham St., Little Rock, AR 72205-7199, United States. egalanzha@uams.edu
Telephone: +1-501-5267620 Fax: +1-501-6868029
Received: October 10, 2006
Revised: October 25, 2006
Accepted: November 30, 2006
Published online: January 14, 2007
Abstract

Using animal mesentery with intravital optical microscopy is a well-established experimental model for studying blood and lymph microcirculation in vivo. Recent advances in cell biology and optical techniques provide the basis for extending this model for new applications, which should generate significantly improved experimental data. This review summarizes the achievements in this specific area, including in vivo label-free blood and lymph photothermal flow cytometry, super-sensitive fluorescence image cytometry, light scattering and speckle flow cytometry, microvessel dynamic microscopy, infrared (IR) angiography, and high-speed imaging of individual cells in fast flow. The capabilities of these techniques, using the rat mesentery model, were demonstrated in various studies; e.g., real-time quantitative detection of circulating and migrating individual blood and cancer cells, studies on vascular dynamics with a focus on lymphatics under normal conditions and under different interventions (e.g. lasers, drugs, nicotine), assessment of lymphatic disturbances from experimental lymphedema, monitoring cell traffic between blood and lymph systems, and high-speed imaging of cell transient deformability in flow. In particular, the obtained results demonstrated that individual cell transportation in living organisms depends on cell type (e.g., normal blood or leukemic cells), the cell’s functional state (e.g., live, apoptotic, or necrotic), and the functional status of the organism. Possible future applications, including in vivo early diagnosis and prevention of disease, monitoring immune response and apoptosis, chemo- and radio-sensitivity tests, and drug screening, are also discussed.

Keywords: Lymph microcirculation; Transmission digital microscopy; Rat mesentery; Flow cytometry; Photothermal technique