X-ray phase-contrast tomography for high-spatial-resolution zebrafish muscle imaging

• DOI: 10.1038/srep16625
• Publication Date: 2015-11-13T10:03:01Z
• Authors: William Vågberg; Daniel H. Larsson; Mei Li; Anders Arner; Hans M. Hertz
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; Microscopy, Confocal; Muscles; Reproducibility of Results; Muscular Dystrophy, Animal; Article; Dystrophin; Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne; Radiographic Image Enhancement; Disease Models, Animal; 03 medical and health sciences; Imaging, Three-Dimensional; Myofibrils; Larva; Animals; Microscopy, Phase-Contrast; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Zebrafish

Abstract Imaging of muscular structure with cellular or subcellular detail in whole-body animal models is key importance for understanding disease and assessing interventions. Classical histological methods high-resolution imaging require excision, fixation staining. Here we show that the three-dimensional unstained whole zebrafish can be imaged sub-5 μm X-ray phase-contrast tomography. Our method relies on a laboratory propagation-based system tailored detection low-contrast 4–6 myofibrils. The demonstrated 20 days post fertilization larvae comparative histology confirms resolve individual myofibrils animal. healthy expected structured muscle pattern while specimen dystrophin deficiency ( sapje ) displays an unstructured pattern, typical Duchenne dystrophy. opens up sub-cellular also other types soft tissue different models.