Home › Cell Biology › Tracking Dynamics of Muscle Engraftment in Small Animals by In Vivo Fluorescent Imaging
Cell Biology JoVE (Open Access) Citable · DOI

Tracking Dynamics of Muscle Engraftment in Small Animals by In Vivo Fluorescent Imaging

DOI: 10.3791/1388-v
What you'll learn
  • ✓ Prepare and label myoblasts with GFP for transplantation tracking
  • ✓ Perform intramuscular cell transplantation in mice using proper surgical technique
  • ✓ Monitor engraftment dynamics using in vivo fluorescence imaging systems
  • ✓ Interpret fluorescent signal changes to assess muscle regeneration success
Protocol

We describe an in vivo fluorescence imaging protocol to monitor muscle regeneration by GFP-labeled myoblasts after transplantation into skeletal muscles of both healthy and dystrophic mice. This protocol can be adapted to study muscle regeneration by transplantation of other types of cells and in other muscular conditions as well.

Difficulty
advanced
Total time
~2–4 weeks (acute surgical procedure ~30 min/mouse; longitudinal imaging over 2–4 weeks post-transplantation)
Model organism
Mouse (healthy and dystrophic strains)
Biosafety
BSL-1

Steps

1
Prepare and culture GFP-labeled myoblasts

Expand and maintain GFP-labeled myoblast cultures prior to transplantation. Verify GFP expression and cell viability to ensure quality of donor cells.

▶ 00:11
2
Transplant cells and perform surgical imaging setup

Execute intramuscular cell injection into skeletal muscles of recipient mice and position animals for in vivo fluorescence imaging under anesthesia. Establish baseline fluorescent signal immediately post-transplantation.

▶ 03:40
3
Acquire and analyze longitudinal fluorescence imaging data

Capture serial in vivo fluorescent images over time to track myoblast engraftment and muscle regeneration dynamics. Quantify fluorescent signal intensity and spatial distribution across timepoints.

▶ 06:29
💬 Comments coming soon