Intravital Microscopy Imaging of Invariant Natural Killer T-Cell Dynamics in the Liver Using CXCR6-eGFP Transgenic Mice.

The immune response in the liver is a highly dynamic process involving the recruitment of many types of immune cells. As a powerful imaging technique, intravital microscopy has been widely used for real-time observation and quantification of cell movements in living animals. Here we describe the use of an in vivo half-dissociated preparation method combined with intravital confocal microscopy to observe the dynamic activities of invariant natural killer T cells in the liver of CXCR6GFP/+ transgenic mice. We believe that this method will enable researchers to explore the dynamics of many other types of immune cells in the liver.