New method for making tissue transparent could speed the study of many diseases

A new method for clearing tissue has been developed by scientists. The method makes it easier for scientists to see and study healthy and disease related biological processes.

A new method for tissue-clearing was described in a paper in Nature Methods on March 28, 2022.

This is a simple and universal tissue-clearing technique for studies of large body parts or even entire animals.

The process of tissue clearing involves the removal of compounds that make tissue opaque, while keeping most structures in place. Tissue-clearing allows scientists to use fluorescent beacon to mark active genes or other molecule of interest in a lab animal, and allows these beacon to be imaged all at once across the entire animal.

The purpose of the tissue-clearing methods was to trace nerve connections within the whole brain. When applied to other body parts or whole bodies, the methods don't work as well as they do for brains.

These methods have used either organic or water-based solvent. The former work more quickly and powerfully, but tend to diminish fluorescent signals. Water-based methods are better at preserving florescence but are weak for clearing non-brain tissue. Both types of method require labor-intensive procedures and use hazardous chemicals.

Yu Wang, a graduate student in the Ye laboratory, was the co-first author of the paper.

The new method devised by Ye and his team uses a sequential combination of organic and water-based detergents and water-based hydrogels to protect the tissue that needs to be preserved. It often doesn't need the pumping of solvent through the sample.

Victoria Nudell, a research assistant in the Ye lab, says that in many cases, you can just put the whole thing in a jar and keep it in a shaker on the bench.

In a variety of applications, the researchers demonstrated the ease and utility of their new method. The collaboration with the laboratory of John Teijaro, the associate professor of immunology and microbiology, allowed for the first time to image cells from the whole chest of mice with the new method.

The new method is being used to trace nerve pathways in the body by Ye and his team.

Victoria Nudell and Yu Wang were co-authored with other authors, such as Wesam Kanim and Neeraj Lal.

More information: Victoria Nudell et al, HYBRiD: hydrogel-reinforced DISCO for clearing mammalian bodies, Nature Methods (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41592-022-01427-0 Journal information: Nature Methods Citation: New method for making tissue transparent could speed the study of many diseases (2022, March 29) retrieved 29 March 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-03-method-tissue-transparent-diseases.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.