TY  - JOUR
TI  - Quantitative Assessment of Capillary Permeability in Deep Intracardiac Capillaries Using Fluorescent Dextran
AU  - Nakamura, Mio 
AU  - Yoshida-Kikkawa, Yurika 
AU  - Sugiura, Kousuke 
AU  - Ito, Yuzuru 
AU  - Toyoda, Masashi 
VL  - 16
IS  - 13
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/05
SP  - e5723
C1  - Bio-protocol 2026;16:e5723
DO  - 10.21769/BioProtoc.5723
UR  - https://doi.org/10.21769/BioProtoc.5723
AB  - When the function of cardiac capillaries is impaired, cardiac function declines, and the risk of disease increases. No reliable assay has been developed to detect or evaluate the level of material exchange of capillaries deep within healthy heart tissue. In this study, we develop a new method to detect and evaluate molecules leaking from capillaries in cardiac tissue. By administering fluorescent dextran to mice via the tail vein, followed by rapid processing of the heart tissue, we have detected leaking fluorescent material from intracardiac microvessels. By comparing the detected images with those taken during the negative-control administration, using the image processing software LAS X and ImageJ, we detected trace amounts of fluorescent material that had leaked from the capillaries. We calculated the area of tissue where fluorescence was detected to perform a quantitative assessment, which we used as an indicator of capillary permeability. This new method of indexing will provide a different perspective on the factors contributing to the decline in cardiac function and the increased risk of disease with aging.
KW  - Cardiac microvascular vessel
KW  - Permeability
KW  - Interstitial fluid
KW  - Dextran
KW  - Tail vein injection
KW  - Leakage analysis
JF  - Bio-protocol
SN  - 2331-8325
PB  - Bio-protocol LLC.
BIO101  - False