研究目的

To introduce the HREM technique and demonstrate its potential for researching cardiovascular development and remodelling in embryos of biomedical model organisms, including visualisation of normal and malformed cardiovascular systems and applications in identifying malformations in genetically altered embryos.

研究成果

HREM is a powerful technique for high-resolution 3D visualisation of cardiovascular systems in embryos and adult tissues, enabling detailed analysis of normal development and malformations. It has been successfully applied in various model organisms and the DMDD program to identify cardiovascular defects, providing valuable insights for developmental biology research.

研究不足

HREM requires specific sample preparation and embedding, which can be time-consuming and may cause shrinkage artefacts. It is insensitive to artefacts from yolk in small embryos but struggles with dense tissues in adults, requiring manual tracing for blood vessel segmentation. Blocks older than one year may become brittle. The technique is limited to ex vivo samples and cannot be used for in vivo imaging.