Go to
JCI Insight
Abstract
To examine thrombus formation in a living mouse, new technologies involving intravital videomicroscopy have been applied to the analysis of vascular windows to directly visualize arterioles and venules. After vessel wall injury in the microcirculation, thrombus development can be imaged in real time. These systems have been used to explore the role of platelets, blood coagulation proteins, endothelium, and the vessel wall during thrombus formation. The study of biochemistry and cell biology in a living animal offers new understanding of physiology and pathology in complex biologic systems.
Authors
Bruce Furie, Barbara C. Furie
Figure 1
Options:
View larger image
(or click on image)
Download as PowerPoint
Birth of a thrombus. Intravital wide-field imaging of platelet, tissue factor, and fibrin deposition in the developing thrombus of a living WT mouse following endothelial injury. Blood flow is from right to left. Platelets, tissue factor, and fibrin were labeled using fluorescently tagged antibodies directed at CD41, tissue factor, and human fibrin, respectively. These components were imaged in 3 separate fluorescence channels. A black and white brightfield image indicates the histologic context of the composite image. To simplify analysis of the composite image, the dynamic range of the intensity of each pseudocolor was minimized. Red, platelets; green, tissue factor; blue, fibrin; yellow, platelets plus tissue factor; turquoise, tissue factor plus fibrin; magenta, platelets plus fibrin; white, platelets plus fibrin plus tissue factor.
Copyright © 2026 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)