MICROSCOPY Vol.47▶No.4 2012
â– Feature Articles: Cutting Edge Live Imaging Analysis of Cellular Migrations during Development

Time-Lapse Imaging Analysis of Blood Vessels in Transgenic Quail Embryo

Yuki Sato

Abstract: Blood vessels help to establish the circulatory system, which is essential for exchanging gas, nutrients, and waste. The blood vessels also play a vital role in developing embryo. A whole-embryo culture method allows quail embryo to develop outside the eggshell by keeping the circulatory system intact. To take advantage of the easy accessibility to developing quail embryos, a transgenic line Tie1:H2B::EYFP that expresses H2B-tagged EYFP in endothelial cells under the control of the Tie1 promoter gene was generated. The Tie1:H2B::EYFP transgenic quail enables us to image the nuclei of every blood vessel endothelial cell in the living embryo with the use of confocal laser microscopes. EYFP signals in the individual endothelial cells are automatically tracked by computer analysis to determine their behaviors and their collective morphometric changes during the blood vessel formation. This manuscript introduces endothelial cell behaviors in higher vertebrates revealed by time-lapse imaging of the Tie1:H2B::EYFP transgenic quail embryo.

Key words: Blood vessels, Transgenic quail embryo, Time-lapse imaging