Intravital high-resolution optical imaging of individual vessel response to photodynamic treatment.

Intravital imaging using confocal microscopy facilitates high-resolution studies of cellular and molecular events in vivo. We use this, complemented by Doppler optical coherence tomography (OCT), to assess blood flow in a mouse dorsal skin-fold window chamber model to image the response of individual blood vessels to localized photodynamic therapy (PDT). Specific fluorescent cell markers were used to assess the effect on the vascular endothelial cell lining of the treated vessels. A fluorescently tagged antibody against an endothelial transmembrane glycoprotein (CD31) was used to image endothelial cell integrity in the targeted blood vessel. A cell permeability (viability) indicator, SYTOX Orange, was also used to further assess damage to endothelial cells. A fluorescently labeled anti-CD41 antibody that binds to platelets was used to confirm platelet aggregation in the treated vessel. These optical techniques enable dynamic assessment of responses to PDT in vivo, at both the vascular endothelial cell and whole vessel levels.