Minimally-Invasive Imaging of Sublingual Vessels—A New Method to Study Microvascular Changes in Mice

Sepsis causes profound microcirculatory dysfunction, where heterogeneous capillary perfusion and abnormal vasomotion contribute to tissue hypoxia and organ failure. Sublingual videomicroscopy is established in large animals and humans to monitor these alterations, but this approach has not been applied in murine models. We developed a method to assess sublingual perfusion and vasomotion in mice using sidestream dark field (SDF) videomicroscopy. Male C57BL/6 mice were anesthetized, and sublingual vessels were imaged for 90 min. Perfusion and vasomotion parameters were assessed, and a Fast Fourier Transform was performed on vasomotion data to characterize the frequency components of rhythmic microvessel diameter changes. Another group of animals was administered lipopolysaccharide (LPS) intraperitoneally as a model of systemic inflammation in sepsis. LPS-treated mice exhibited a significant decline in the proportion of perfused vessels at 90 min and in the microvascular flow index. Very low-frequency vasomotion (0.005-0.15 Hz) declined in controls but was preserved during endotoxemia, suggesting an active microvascular tone response to inflammatory stress. This study establishes the first murine protocol for sublingual SDF imaging, allowing early detection of perfusion deficits and vasomotor changes in experimental sepsis. The minimal-invasive approach offers a translational platform for mechanistic and therapeutic studies in sepsis.