AUTHOR=Wu Chao , Yan Fang , Li Min , Tu Yimin , Guo Ziyu , Chen Yufei , Wu Yaxin , Li Qing , Yu Changan , Fu Yi , Wu Meihui , Kong Wei , Gao Yanxiang , Li Xiaowei , Zheng Jingang 

TITLE=Whole-Mount Kidney Clearing and Visualization Reveal Renal Sympathetic Hyperinnervation in Heart Failure Mice

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physiology

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.696286

DOI=10.3389/fphys.2021.696286

ISSN=1664-042X

ABSTRACT=Developing a three-dimensional visualization of the kidney at the whole-mount scale is challenging. In the present study, we optimized mouse whole-mount kidney clearing, which improved the transparency ratio to over 90% based on organ-specific ligation (OSL)-clear, unobstructed brain imaging cocktails and computational analysis (CUBIC). The optimized OSL-CUBIC-compatible three-dimensional immunostaining and imaging simultaneously visualized the high-resolution three-dimensional structure of the whole-mount renal microvascular, glomerulus, and accompanying wrapped traveling sympathetic nerves in mice. A mouse model of pressure overload-induced heart failure was then established by minimally invasive transverse aortic constriction. Further three-dimensional quantification revealed renal sympathetic hyperinnervation (6.80% ± 1.04% vs. 3.73% ± 0.60%, P < 0.05) in mice with heart failure. In conclusion, this newly developed whole-organ tissue clearing and imaging system provides comprehensive information at the whole-mount scale and has great potential for kidney research. Our data suggest that renal sympathetic hyperinnervation is involved in heart failure associated renal dysfunction