In Vivo Imaging of Venous Thrombus and Pulmonary Embolism Using Novel Murine Venous Thromboembolism Model

JACC Basic Transl Sci. 2020 Mar 18;5(4):344-356. doi: 10.1016/j.jacbts.2020.01.010. eCollection 2020 Apr.

Abstract

This work established a new murine venous thromboembolism (VTE) model. This model has multiple novel features representing clinical VTE that include the following: 1) deep venous thrombosis (DVT) was formed and extended in the long axis of femoral/saphenous vein; 2) thrombus was formed in a venous valve pocket; 3) deligation of suture-induced spontaneous pulmonary emboli of fibrin-rich DVT; and 4) cardiac motion-free femoral/saphenous vein allowed high-resolution intravital microscopic imaging of fibrin-rich DVT. This new model requires only commercially available epifluorescence microscopy. Therefore, this model has significant potential for better understanding of VTE pathophysiology.

Keywords: 2-photon microscopy; DVT, deep venous thrombosis; FITC, fluorescein isothiocyanate; IQR, interquartile range; IVC, inferior vena cava; PE, pulmonary embolism; ROS, reactive oxygen species; VTE, venous thromboembolism; deep vein thrombosis; imaging; pulmonary embolism; venous thromboembolism.