A Workflow to Track and Analyze Endothelial Migration During Vascular Development in Zebrafish Embryos Using Lightsheet Microscopy.

Zebrafish allow unrivalled in vivo imaging of vascular development due to their optical translucency and the availability of transgenic lines which fluorescently label cells and tissues of interest. Advances in light sheet fluorescence microscopy allow longer and faster imaging of live embryos at higher resolutions than previously possible, which facilitates study of dynamic cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying vessel formation and function. Here we describe a workflow using lightsheet microscopy to quantify endothelial cell (EC) migration dynamics during vascular development. Tracking movement of EC nuclei and analyzing the properties of EC migration trajectories permit detailed studies of angiogenesis and vascular remodeling in different contexts.