Viewing the Microcirculation through the Window: Some Twenty Years Experience with the Hamster Dorsal Skinfold Chamber

Abstract

Intravital microscopy represents a sophisticated technique to study the microcirculation in health and disease. While most preparations used for those studies are acute in nature, the use of chamber preparations in the skinfold bear the advantage to allow for chronic studies with repeated analysis of the microcirculation over a prolonged period of time. The skinfold chamber model for microcirculatory analysis has been adapted to mice, rats and hamsters. Although the use of rats and, in particular, the use of mice has the advantage of the availability of species-specific tools, the use of the hamster as the experimental animal may be preferred due to anatomical reasons, which facilitate the microsurgical preparation and improve the quality of microscopic imaging. The use of the hamster dorsal skinfold chamber, firstly described by Endrich and coworkers in 1980, has brought out during the last two decades a considerable number of experimental studies within the fields of microcirculation physiology, inflammation and sepsis, ischemia-reperfusion, angiogenesis, and transplantation, indicating that the model has to be considered a versatile tool to study the microcirculation in health and disease.

Real-time imaging of de novo arteriovenous malformation in a mouse model of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia

“…However, we were unable to examine the onset, progression, remodeling, and hemodynamic characters of these AV shunts. To overcome these limitations, we utilized a recently developed hyperspectral imaging system in a dorsal skinfold window chamber model (19)(20)(21)(22), which allows monitoring the process of vascular remodeling during wound healing through intravital images. With this system, we obtained bright-field images, levels of hemoglobin (Hb) oxygen saturation, and video recording of blood flow on the blood vessels of control and mutant mice during wound healing for 8 days.…”

Paradoxical attenuation of leukocyte rolling in response to ischemia- reperfusion and extracorporeal blood circulation in inflamed tissue

“…Chamber models have been used for intravital microscopy, because they allow prolonged observation periods (28,32) and study of the microcirculation in the absence of anesthesia, which affects microcirculatory responses (9,31), and in the absence of immediate surgical trauma (32). A classic application of intravital microscopy in chamber models has been the use of various fluorescent markers to study leukocyte-endothelial cell interaction (26,28,32).…”

“…A classic application of intravital microscopy in chamber models has been the use of various fluorescent markers to study leukocyte-endothelial cell interaction (26,28,32).…”

Intravital microscopy in a dorsal skinfold chamber: hemodynamics, tumor angiogenesis and inflammation

“…13 This can lead to a tilting of the chamber, which may affect the perfusion of the prepared tissue. However, the period of viewing through the window and the quality of image viewed from an intravital microscopy depend on the quality of surgical preparation especially during subcutis with the panniculus carnosus removal.…”

“…39 The dorsal skinfold chamber model has been used extensively with BALB/c-nude mice or SCID immunodeficient mice for the study of microcirculation and angiogenesis. 6,12,13 An implanted tumor, blood vessels, and host tissue are observed directly through a transparent window. Thus, tumor growth can be visualized and quantified over time along with the development of the vasculature, at high resolution and without tissue damage.…”