In Vivo Imaging of Zebrafish Larvae Heart Regeneration.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death globally, so learning about regeneration in the heart is a critical research topic. In the past, cardiomyocytes were thought to be terminally differentiated, and thus, the heart as an organ was thought to lack significant repair capacity. But newer data contradict it, depicting the MI and repair processes in a more active manner. Although histopathology can provide crucial structural information, it is limited to static snapshots of tissue structure; in vivo imaging, on the other hand, allows direct follow-up of regeneration kinetics. Considering the robust regenerative ability of zebrafish, they represent a good model for studying cardiac repair. Herein, this study describes an experimental protocol to visualize myocardial injury and repair in transgenic zebrafish larvae. We applied confocal microscopy and light-sheet microscopy to observe the processes of cardiomyocyte ablation and regeneration. It is an easier way to visualize in vivo, allowing real-time observation of high-resolution spatiotemporal processes of cardiac repair.