Abstract
AbstractInvestigation into early embryonic functions, e.g. brain activity, have long been constrained due to the technical challenges involved. Functional ultrasound (fUS) has emerged as a breakthrough modality for real-time monitoring of brain activity, offering considerable potential as a tool for studying functional embryonic development. In the present study, fUS was leveraged to monitor the functions of developing mice from embryonic days E8.5 to E18.5, revealing its ability to capture whole-embryo activity with exceptional spatial and temporal resolutions. The data revealed a high correlation between cardiac function and body size, underscoring the pivotal role of cardiac function in embryonic growth. Moreover, brain activity across the gestational period was successfully captured, providing valuable information about brain activity during embryonic/fetal development. Thus, our study offers novel insights into embryonic functional development, laying the foundation for embryonic fUS imaging in both scientific research and clinical contexts.
Publisher
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Reference35 articles.
1. T. W. Sadler , Langman’s medical embryology. (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2022).
2. L. Wolpert , C. Tickle , A. M. Arias , Principles of development. (Oxford University Press, USA, 2015).
3. Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics reveal somitogenesis in gastruloids;Nature,2020
4. Nuclear metabolism and the regulation of the epigenome;Nature Metabolism,2020
5. Metabolic lactate production coordinates vasculature development and progenitor behavior in the developing mouse neocortex;Nat Neurosci,2022