Analyzing Remodeling of Cardiac Tissue: A Comprehensive Approach Based on Confocal Microscopy and 3D Reconstructions.

ABSTRACT: Microstructural characterization of cardiac tissue and its remodeling in disease is a crucial step in many basic research projects. We present a comprehensive approach for three-dimensional characterization of cardiac tissue at the submicrometer scale. We developed a compression-free mounting method as well as labeling and imaging protocols that facilitate acquisition of three-dimensional image stacks with scanning confocal microscopy. We evaluated the approach with normal and infarcted ventricular tissue. We used the acquired image stacks for segmentation, quantitative analysis and visualization of important tissue components. In contrast to conventional mounting, compression-free mounting preserved cell shapes, capillary lumens and extracellular laminas. Furthermore, the new approach and

SUBMITTER: Seidel T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4805509 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature