University of Mississippi Medical Center 7 articles published in JoVE Developmental Biology Adult Mouse Digit Amputation and Regeneration: A Simple Model to Investigate Mammalian Blastema Formation and Intramembranous Ossification Lindsay A. Dawson1, Regina Brunauer1, Katherine N. Zimmel1, Osama Qureshi1, Alyssa R. Falck2, Patrick Kim3, Connor P. Dolan1, Ling Yu1, Yu-Lieh Lin1, Benjamin Daniel1, Mingquan Yan1, Ken Muneoka1 1Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, 2Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, 3Department of Neurosurgery, University of Mississippi Medical Center Here, we present a protocol of adult mouse terminal phalanx amputation to investigate mammalian blastema formation and intramembranous ossification, analyzed by fluorescent immunohistochemistry and sequential in-vivo microcomputed tomography. Medicine Microelectrode Impalement Method to Record Membrane Potential from a Cannulated Middle Cerebral Artery Joey T. Reed1, Sumit P. Sontakke1, Mallikarjuna R. Pabbidi1 1Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Mississippi Medical Center The primary goal of this article is to provide details of how to record membrane potential (Vm) from the middle cerebral artery using the microelectrode impalement method. The cannulated middle cerebral artery is equilibrated to gain myogenic tone, and the vessel wall is impaled using high resistance microelectrodes. Immunology and Infection A Plate-based Cytotoxicity Assay for the Assessment of Rat Placental Natural Killer Cell Cytolytic Function Cedar H. Baik1, Mallory Geer1, Olivia K. Travis2, Denise C. Cornelius1,2 1Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center, 2Department of Experimental Therapeutics and Pharmacology, University of Mississippi Medical Center Here, we provide a detailed methodology to isolate and assess cytotoxic function of natural killer cells from placentas by a colorimetric plate assay. The reduced uterine perfusion pressure rat model of placental ischemia was chosen to demonstrate the antibody-mediated isolation and assessment of the cytotoxic function of natural killer cells. Medicine Estimation of Nephron Number in Whole Kidney using the Acid Maceration Method Sarah M. Peterson1, Xuexiang Wang2, Ashley C. Johnson1, Ian D. Coate1, Michael R. Garrett1,3, Sean P. Didion1,4 1Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, The University of Mississippi Medical Center, 2Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, Rush University Medical Center, 3Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, The University of Mississippi Medical Center, 4Department of Neurology, The University of Mississippi Medical Center Estimates of whole kidney nephron number are important clinically and experimentally, as there is an inverse association between nephron number and an enhanced risk of renal and cardiovascular disease.Herein, the use of the acid maceration method, which provides fast and reliable estimates of whole kidney nephron number, is demonstrated. Medicine Novel Approach for Simultaneous Recording of Renal Sympathetic Nerve Activity and Blood Pressure with Intravenous Infusion in Conscious, Unrestrained Mice. Shereen M. Hamza1, John E. Hall2 1Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, 2Department of Physiology & Biophysics, University of Mississippi Medical Center, 3Mississippi Center for Obesity Research Anesthetized mice exhibit non-physiological systemic blood pressure, which precludes meaningful assessment of autonomic tone given the intimate relationship between blood pressure and the autonomic nervous system. Thus, a novel method to simultaneously record renal sympathetic nerve activity and blood pressure with intravenous infusion in conscious mice is outlined. Biology The Use of Ex Vivo Whole-organ Imaging and Quantitative Tissue Histology to Determine the Bio-distribution of Fluorescently Labeled Molecules Jeremy W. D. McGowan1, Gene L. Bidwell, III1 1Department of Neurology, The University of Mississippi Medical Center Ex vivo whole-organ imaging is a rapid method for determining the relative concentrations of fluorescently labeled compounds within and between tissues or treatment groups. Conversely, quantitative fluorescence histology, while more labor intensive, allows for the quantification of the absolute tissue levels of labeled molecules. Biology Methods for the Determination of Rates of Glucose and Fatty Acid Oxidation in the Isolated Working Rat Heart Bhavisha Bakrania1, Joey P. Granger1, Romain Harmancey1 1Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Mississippi Center for Obesity Research, Cardiovascular-Renal Research Center, University of Mississippi Medical Center The following protocol describes the preparation and utilization of buffers for the quantitative measurement of rates of glucose and fatty acid oxidation in the isolated working rat heart. The methods used for sample analysis and data interpretation are also discussed.