Abstract
Detailed studies of heart development and function are crucial for our understanding of cardiac failures and pave the way for better diagnostics and treatment. However, the constant motion and close incorporation into the cardiovascular system prevent in vivo studies of the living, unperturbed heart. The complementary strengths of the zebrafish model and light sheet microscopy provide a useful platform to fill this gap. High-resolution images of the embryonic vertebrate heart are now recorded from within the living animal: deep inside the unperturbed heart we can follow cardiac contractions and measure action potentials and calcium transients. Three-dimensional reconstructions of the entire beating heart with cellular resolution give new insights into its ever-changing morphology and facilitate studies into how individual cells form the complex cardiac network. In addition, cardiac dynamics and robustness are now examined with targeted optical manipulation. Overall, the combination of zebrafish and light sheet microscopy represents a promising addition for cardiac research and opens the door to a better understanding of heart function and development.
Highlights
The heart is an electrically controlled mechanical pump that persistently contracts and relaxes to move blood through the circulatory system
Complemented by additional techniques such as optical manipulation, light sheet microscopy will help to understand the robustness of the heart and the contribution of individual cells to the complex cardiac network
Within the possibilities defined by the intrinsic limitations of zebrafish as a cardiac model system, many new insights into the heart and cardiovascular system will be gained
Summary
Detailed studies of heart development and function are crucial for our understanding of cardiac failures and pave the way for better diagnostics and treatment. The constant motion and close incorporation into the cardiovascular system prevent in vivo studies of the living, unperturbed heart. High-resolution images of the embryonic vertebrate heart are recorded from within the living animal: deep inside the unperturbed heart we can follow cardiac contractions and measure action potentials and calcium transients. Three-dimensional reconstructions of the entire beating heart with cellular resolution give new insights into its ever-changing morphology and facilitate studies into how individual cells form the complex cardiac network. The combination of zebrafish and light sheet microscopy represents a promising addition for cardiac research and opens the door to a better understanding of heart function and development
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