ABSTRACT
Tracking physiological parameters in different organs within the same organism simultaneously and in real time can provide an outstanding representation of the organism's physiological status. The state-of-the-art technique of using encapsulated fluorescent molecular probes (microencapsulated biomarkers) is a unique tool that can serve as a platform for the development of new methods to obtain in vivo physiological measurements and is applicable to a broad range of organisms. Here, we describe a novel technique to monitor the pH of blood inside the gill capillaries and interstitial fluid of muscles by using microencapsulated biomarkers in a zebrafish model. The functionality of the proposed technique is shown by the identification of acidification under anesthesia-induced coma and after death. The pH in muscles reacts to hypoxia faster than that in the gill bloodstream, which makes both parameters applicable as markers of either local or bodily reactions.
Footnotes
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing or financial interests.
Author contributions
Conceptualization: E.B., A.G., B.B., A.S., I.M., M.T.; Methodology: E.B., A.G., E.S., B.B., I.M.; Software: E.B., A.G., E.S., A.S.; Formal analysis: A.G., Z.S., A.S.; Investigation: E.B., A.G., E.S.; Resources: E.B., A.G., B.B.; Data curation: E.B., A.G.; Writing – original draft: E.B., A.G.; Writing – review & editing: M.T., Z.S., I.M.; Visualization: E.B., A.G., E.S.; Supervision: I.M., M.T.; Project administration: I.M., M.T.; Funding acquisition: I.M., M.T.
Funding
This research was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (15-14-10008).
- Received February 15, 2017.
- Accepted March 28, 2017.
- © 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd
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