Abstract
BackgroundX-ray microtomography (μCT) has become an invaluable tool for non-destructive analysis of biological samples in the field of developmental biology. Mouse embryos are a typical model for investigation of human developmental diseases. By obtaining 3D high-resolution scans of the mouse embryo heads, we gain valuable morphological information about the structures prominent in the development of future face, brain, and sensory organs. The development of facial skeleton tracked in these μCT data provides a valuable background for further studies of congenital craniofacial diseases and normal development.FindingsIn this work, reusable tomographic data from 7 full 3D scans of mouse embryo heads are presented and made publicly available. The ages of these embryos range from E12.5 to E18.5. The samples were stained by phosphotungstic acid prior to scanning, which greatly enhanced the contrast of various tissues in the reconstructed images and enabled precise segmentation. The images were obtained on a laboratory-based μCT system. Furthermore, we provide manually segmented masks of mesenchymal condensations (for E12.5 and E13.5) and cartilage present in the nasal capsule of the scanned embryos.ConclusionWe present a comprehensive dataset of X-ray 3D computed tomography images of the developing mouse head with high-quality manual segmentation masks of cartilaginous nasal capsules. The provided μCT images can be used for studying any other major structure within the developing mouse heads. The high quality of the manually segmented models of nasal capsules may be instrumental to understanding the complex process of the development of the face in a mouse model.
Highlights
X-ray microtomography has become an invaluable tool for non-destructive analysis of biological samples in the field of developmental biology
The development of facial skeleton tracked in these X-ray microtomography (μCT) data provides a valuable background for further studies of congenital craniofacial diseases and normal development
The samples were stained by phosphotungstic acid prior to scanning, which greatly enhanced the contrast of various tissues in the reconstructed images and enabled precise segmentation
Summary
The head is formed during embryonic development through a process known as morphogenesis, which involves hundreds of genes and non-coding regulatory sequences [1, 2] This intricate body compartment hosts numerous cell and tissue types forming, e.g., muscles, ligaments, nerves and central nervous system, sensory organs, hair follicles, and teeth, which are all integrated in the complexly shaped skull. We provide the generated manual segmentations alongside the tomographic slices These scans can be used by researchers interested in the development of various structures in the head. The provided atlas of mouse cranial development (including tomographic slices and segmented nasal capsules) will be essential for tracing the normal development of any tissue type within the vertebrate head. Given the excellent differential contrast and general high quality of the data, they can be reused for any investigation of normal anatomy during the developmental time course
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