Retinal Vessel Isolation
Retinal Vessel Isolation - Related Videos
04:20
Isolating Mouse Brain Vessels: A Protocol to Isolate Intact Vessels from Murine Brain Sample
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2025
This video demonstrates the isolation of intact vessels from a mouse's brain that constitute the blood-brain barrier (BBB) along with neurons and glial cells. The isolated vessels can be used as an in vitro model to study their role in maintaining brain homeostasis.
07:22
Isolation of Retinal Stem Cells from the Mouse Eye
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Cited by 12 •
2010
In this video, we will demonstrate how to isolate retinal stem cells from the ciliary epithelium of the mouse eye and grow them in culture to form clonal retinal spheres. The spheres that are isolated possess the cardinal properties of stem cells: self-renewal and multipotentiality.
08:09
Vasodilation of Isolated Vessels and the Isolation of the Extracellular Matrix of Tight-skin Mice
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Cited by 1 •
2017
We describe the isolation of cardiac extracellular matrix from C57Bl/6J control mice, tight-skin mice, and tight-skin mice treated with the IRF5 inhibitory peptide. We also describe the vasodilation studies on the isolated vessels from C57Bl/6J, tight-skin mice and tight-skin mice treated with the IRF5 inhibitory peptide.
13:02
An Isolated Retinal Preparation to Record Light Response from Genetically Labeled Retinal Ganglion Cells
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Cited by 26 •
2011
This article provides a description of how to dissect and record from the isolated retinal preparation in mouse. In particular, we describe how to record light responses from a fluorescently labeled ganglion cell population and subsequently identify and analyze its morphology.
11:01
Isolation of Primary Murine Retinal Ganglion Cells (RGCs) by Flow Cytometry
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Cited by 19 •
2017
Millions of people suffer from retinal degenerative diseases that result in irreversible blindness. A common element of many of these diseases is the loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). This detailed protocol describes the isolation of primary murine RGCs by positive and negative selection with flow cytometry.
FAQs
Controlled digestion balances two competing outcomes: removing neural and connective components while maintaining the vessel network. If preservation is inadequate, the preparation may not retain the vascular organization needed for analysis; if surrounding tissue remains, it can obstruct direct microscopic examination. This balance makes the digestion step central to obtaining interpretable structural and cellular observations.
Maintaining the network in an organized state allows researchers to examine relationships among vessels rather than isolated fragments. The preparation can therefore support assessment of capillary architecture, vessel density, and branching abnormalities. Preserved structure also provides a context for evaluating changes in pericytes and endothelial cells across the retinal vascular network.
Isolated preparations can reveal both structural abnormalities and cellular alterations. Structural observations include changes in capillary architecture, vessel density, and branching patterns, while cellular assessment can focus on pericytes and endothelial cells. The method can also identify acellular capillaries, a pathological feature relevant to studies of retinal vascular damage.
After digestion removes the targeted surrounding components, the remaining vessel network is mounted for examination and stained for microscopic analysis. Mounting provides a stable preparation, while staining makes the preserved vascular structures and associated cellular features easier to evaluate. Together, these steps convert the isolated network into a specimen suitable for systematic imaging and comparison.
Microscopic examination can provide information about the organization and extent of the retinal vascular network. Researchers can assess capillary architecture and vessel density, inspect branching abnormalities, and examine changes involving pericytes or endothelial cells. The same preparation may also reveal acellular capillaries, allowing structural and pathological findings to be considered together.
This technique is useful when investigators need to study retinal vessels separately from the surrounding neural and connective tissue. It supports research on retinal development and vascular biology, while also providing a preparation for examining disease-associated changes. In particular, isolated vessels help investigate pathological features connected with conditions such as diabetic retinopathy.