Mouse Eye Explants
Mouse Eye Explants - Related Videos
07:38
Quantifying the Activity of cis-Regulatory Elements in the Mouse Retina by Explant Electroporation
0 Views •
Cited by 26 •
2011
This protocol describes a simple and inexpensive way to quantify the activity of cis-regulatory elements (i.e., enhancer/promoters) in living mouse retinas via explant electroporation. DNA preparation, retinal dissection, electroporation, retinal explant culture, and post-fixation analysis and quantification are described.
08:24
Dissection and Culture of Mouse Dopaminergic and Striatal Explants in Three-Dimensional Collagen Matrix Assays
0 Views •
Cited by 13 •
2012
Explants from the midbrain dopamine system and striatum are used in a collagen matrix assay for the in vitro analysis of mesostriatal and striatonigral pathway development. In this assay axonal outgrowth and guidance can be manipulated and quantified. It can also be modified for assessing other regions or molecular cues.
05:30
Mouse Eye Enucleation for Remote High-throughput Phenotyping
0 Views •
Cited by 19 •
2011
The dissection technique illustrates enucleation of the mouse eye for tissue fixation to perform phenotyping in high-throughput screens.
06:25
Explant Culture for Developmental Studies
0 Views •
2023
Explant culture is a technique in which living cells or tissues are removed from an embryo for continued development outside of the organism. This ex vivo approach allows researchers to manipulate and observe developing tissues in ways that are not possible in vivo. Once established, explant culture is frequently used to understand the role of genes and signaling molecules in organogenesis. This video will first introduce the basic principles of explant culture and demonstrate a protocol to...
07:45
Explant Culture of Neural Tissue
0 Views •
2023
The intricate structure of the vertebrate nervous system arises from a complex series of events involving cell differentiation, cell migration, and changes in cell morphology. Studying these processes is essential to our understanding of nervous system function as well as our ability to diagnose and treat disorders that result from abnormal development. However, neural tissues are relatively inaccessible for experimental manipulations, especially in embryonic mammals. As a result, many...
FAQs
Careful dissection and ex vivo maintenance retain important spatial relationships among the retina, lens, retinal pigment epithelium, and surrounding tissues. Those relationships let researchers examine changes in tissue organization and behavior in a preparation that remains experimentally accessible. Using whole eyes or selected ocular tissues also allows the model to match the structural scope of a particular biological question.
Nutrient culture medium supports cellular survival after removal from the animal, making observation and treatment possible outside the living organism. Because the explant is maintained under controlled conditions, researchers can examine how ocular tissues respond while limiting the broader physiological complexity present in vivo. The medium therefore provides the supportive environment required for studying viable tissue rather than isolated observations alone.
The preparation can support analysis of tissue behavior, gene expression, and cell organization within ocular structures. Researchers can therefore connect visible structural changes with molecular or cellular responses, rather than examining only one level of biology. These readouts are useful for investigating how developmental processes, disease-related changes, or experimental treatments affect the organization and function of eye tissues.
An explant removes the eye tissue from the complexity of the living animal while preserving relationships among several ocular structures. This creates a more controlled setting for observing tissue behavior, gene expression, and responses to experimental treatments. The approach is consequently useful when researchers need direct access to ocular tissues and defined experimental conditions, while focusing on changes within the eye itself.
A basic workflow begins with careful dissection of either a whole eye or selected ocular tissues. The preparation is then placed in nutrient culture medium that supports cellular survival and maintained under controlled conditions. Researchers can subsequently observe tissue behavior, cell organization, gene expression, or responses to experimental treatments, depending on the biological question being investigated.
These preparations are useful when researchers need to examine eye structure, development, or disease-related changes while retaining interactions among multiple ocular tissues. Their controlled ex vivo setting supports studies of developmental biology and vision research, as well as disease modeling. The model can reveal changes in tissue organization and behavior that are relevant to how ocular conditions develop or progress.
Researchers can expose maintained ocular tissues to experimental treatments and observe resulting changes in tissue behavior, gene expression, or cell organization. This makes the model relevant for evaluating potential therapeutic strategies in a controlled setting before considering the broader complexity of a living animal. Its value comes from combining accessible treatment exposure with preservation of important ocular tissue relationships.