Language
English
Publication Date
3-25-2026
Journal
iScience
DOI
10.1016/j.isci.2026.115464
PMID
42006307
PMCID
PMC13091420
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
3-25-2026
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Post-print
Abstract
Historically, visualization of vascular networks within the musculoskeletal system, particularly in mineralized tissues such as bones and joints, has been limited to conventional 2D histological approaches. Recent advances in optical tissue clearing technologies and fluorescence imaging approaches in whole, intact tissues offer an entrée to interrogate the vasculature at unprecedented resolution during both musculoskeletal development and in pathologic contexts in three dimensions. However, these clearing techniques were originally not developed for imaging hard mineralized tissues, such as the femur and tibia. Herein, we have optimized tissue decalcification conditions and compared aqueous- and solvent-based tissue clearing approaches to establish an optimal pipeline for clearing and imaging the vasculature in mineralized tissues of the adult mouse. Collectively, this work shows that optical clearing combined with light-sheet microscopy represents a powerful method for generating high-resolution images of the murine hindlimb vasculature, with potential applications in aging and disease modeling.
Keywords
Methodology in biological sciences, Model organism
Published Open-Access
yes
Recommended Citation
Ishola, Azeez O; Pillai, Athira; Ahn, Taeyong; et al., "Comparative Analysis of Clearing Methods for 3D Imaging of the Vasculature in Mineralized Mouse Tissues" (2026). Faculty, Staff and Students Publications. 7102.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/baylor_docs/7102
Graphical Abstract