uDisco and Human Brain Mapping: Shrunken Body Tissues Are Better Than Thin Slices

For many decades now, understanding diseases using lab mice is done through cutting some samples for testing under a powerful microscope. However, doing so is not a good way to study the brain particularly disorders, according to Ali Ertürk of the Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research located at the Ludwig Maximilians University Medical Center in Munich, Germany. Seeing the entire picture is needed; hence, the best thing to do is to look at the whole organism. With this, Ertük and his colleagues came up with a method called uDisco, short for "ultimate 3D imaging of solvent cleared organs".

In uDisco, fluorescent proteins are preserved for months while intact organs and rodent bodies are rendered transparent. The bodies' sizes are likewise reduced by 65 percent. According to dailymail.co.uk, the method turns layers of tissue transparent; therefore, veins and other delicate features become visible even while they are still inside the subject's body.

Digging into details, the technique is basically done by dehydrating the body of a dead mouse through putting it in alcohol; after which the fat is removed by soaking the body in an organic solvent. Lastly, fluorescent protein is added to certain body parts to make them glow. When the body parts glow, they become easier to study. It takes four days before the mouse becomes transparent.

With uDisco, it is easier to produce high resolution 3D images of an entire mouse's nervous system and brain. This is good news because individual tissue slices make it hard for researchers to create complete3D models, International Business Times reported. Additionally, the old method costs a lot; hence uDisco can apparently help reduce laboratory expenses.

Scientists believe that this method would be of great help in studying diseases like Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's' Disease, and Motor Neuron Disease. Moreover, it can likewise be applied to bigger mammals.