Human liver afferent and efferent nerves revealed by 3-D/Airyscan super-resolution imaging.

Neural regulation of hepatic metabolism has long been recognized. However, the detailed afferent and efferent innervation of the human liver has not been systematically characterized. This is largely due to the liver's high lipid and pigment contents, causing false-negative (light scattering and absorption) and false-positive (autofluorescence) results in in-depth fluorescence imaging. Here, to avoid the artifacts in three-dimensional (3-D) liver neurohistology, we embed the bleached human liver in the high-refractive-index polymer for tissue clearing and antifade 3-D/Airyscan super-resolution imaging. Importantly, using the paired substance P (SP, sensory marker) and PGP9.5 (pan-neuronal marker) labeling, we detect the sensory nerves in the portal space, featuring the SP+ varicosities in the PGP9.5+ nerve bundles/fibers, confirming the afferent liver innervation. Also, using the tyrosine hydroxylase (TH, sympathetic marker) labeling, we identify 1) condensed TH+ sympathetic nerves in the portal space, 2) extension of sympathetic nerves from the portal to the intralobular space, in which the TH+ nerve density is 2.6 ± 0.7-fold higher than that of the intralobular space in the human pancreas, and 3) the TH+ nerve fibers and varicosities contacting the ballooning cells, implicating potential sympathetic influence on hepatocytes with macrovesicular fatty change. Finally, using the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT, parasympathetic marker), PGP9.5, and CK19 (epithelial marker) labeling with panoramic-to-Airyscan super-resolution imaging, we detect and confirm the parasympathetic innervation of the septal bile duct. Overall, our labeling and 3-D/Airyscan imaging approach reveal the hepatic sensory (afferent) and sympathetic and parasympathetic (efferent) innervation, establishing a clinically related setting for high-resolution 3-D liver neurohistology.NEW & NOTEWORTHY We embed the human liver (vs. pancreas, positive control) in the high-refractive-index polymer for tissue clearing and antifade 3-D/Airyscan super-resolution neurohistology. The pancreas-liver comparison reveals: 1) sensory nerves in the hepatoportal space; 2) intralobular sympathetic innervation, including the nerve fibers and varicosities contacting the ballooning hepatocytes; and 3) parasympathetic innervation of the septal bile duct. Our results highlight the sensitivity and resolving power of 3-D/Airyscan super-resolution imaging in human liver neurohistology.

Multimodal 3-D/2-D human islet and duct imaging in exocrine and endocrine lesion environment: associated pancreas tissue remodeling.

Pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) and islet cell microadenoma are exocrine and endocrine neoplasms of human pancreas that have been linked to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and neuroendocrine tumor, respectively. However, in health and at the surgical margin of pancreatic cancer, it remains unresolved how to simultaneously characterize duct and islet remodeling to investigate the exocrine-endocrine association in the lesion microenvironment. Here, we develop a new vibratome-based approach to detect, confirm, and analyze the two types of pancreas remodeling via stereo/three-dimensional (3-D) and classic/two-dimensional (2-D) histology. Surgical margins of PDAC (n = 10, distal) and cadaveric donor pancreases (n = 10, consecutive cases) were fixed, sectioned by vibratome (350 µm), and surveyed for PanIN and microadenoma via stereomicroscopy. After lesion detection, PanIN and microadenoma were analyzed with 3-D fluorescence imaging and clinical microtome-based histology for confirmation and assessment of microenvironment. Multimodal imaging of PDAC surgical margins and cadaveric donor pancreases detected the peri-PanIN islet aggregation with duct-islet cell clusters. Organ-wide survey of cadaveric donor pancreases shows a marked 2.3-fold increase in the lesion size with the PanIN-islet association vs. without the association. In the survey, we unexpectedly detected the islet cell microadenoma adjacent to (<2 mm) PanIN. Overall, among the 53 early lesions in the cadaveric donor pancreases (PanINs and microadenomas), 81% are featured with the associated exocrine-endocrine tissue remodeling. Multimodal 3-D/2-D tissue imaging reveals local and simultaneous duct and islet remodeling in the cancer surgical margin and cadaveric donor pancreas. In the cadaveric donor pancreas, the peri-PanIN islet aggregation and PanIN-microadenoma association are two major features of pancreas remodeling in the early lesion microenvironment.NEW & NOTEWORTHY We develop a new multimodal 3-D/2-D imaging approach (matched stereomicroscopic, fluorescence, and H&E signals) to examine human duct-islet association in the PDAC surgical margin and cadaveric donor pancreas. In both conditions, peri-PanIN islet aggregation with duct-islet cell clusters was identified. The PanIN-islet cell microadenoma association was unexpectedly detected in the donor pancreas. Our work provides the technical and morphological foundations to simultaneously characterize human islets and ducts to study their association in health and disease.

Local islet remodelling associated with duct lesion-islet complex in adult human pancreas.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Islets are thought to be stably present in the adult human pancreas to maintain glucose homeostasis. However, identification of the pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN)-islet complex in mice and the presence of PanIN lesions in adult humans suggest that similar remodelling of islet structure and environment may occur in the human pancreas. To identify islet remodelling in a clinically related setting, we examine human donor pancreases with 3D histology to detect and characterise the human PanIN-islet complex. METHODS: Cadaveric donor pancreases (26-65 years old, n = 10) were fixed and sectioned (350 µm) for tissue labelling, clearing and microscopy to detect local islet remodelling for 3D analysis of the microenvironment. The remodelled microenvironment was subsequently examined via microtome-based histology for clinical assessment. RESULTS: In nine pancreases, we identified the unique peri-lobular islet aggregation associated with the PanIN lesion (16 lesion-islet complexes detected; size: 3.18 ± 1.34 mm). Important features of the lesion-islet microenvironment include: (1) formation of intra-islet ducts, (2) acinar atrophy, (3) adipocyte association, (4) inflammation (CD45+), (5) stromal accumulation (α-SMA+), (6) increase in Ki-67 proliferation index but absence of Ki-67+ alpha/beta cells and (7) in-depth and continuous duct-islet cell contacts, forming a cluster. The duct-islet cell cluster and intra-islet ducts suggest likely islet cell neogenesis but not replication. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: We identify local islet remodelling associated with PanIN-islet complex in the adult human pancreas. The tissue remodelling and the evidence of inflammation and stromal accumulation suggest that the PanIN-islet complex is derived from tissue repair after a local injury.

Human pancreatic afferent and efferent nerves: mapping and 3-D illustration of exocrine, endocrine, and adipose innervation.

The pancreas consists of both the exocrine (acini and ducts) and endocrine (islets) compartments to participate in and regulate the body's digestive and metabolic activities. These activities are subjected to neural modulation, but characterization of the human pancreatic afferent and efferent nerves remains difficult because of the lack of three-dimensional (3-D) image data. Here we prepare transparent human donor pancreases for 3-D histology to reveal the pancreatic microstructure, vasculature, and innervation in a global and integrated fashion. The pancreatic neural network consists of the substance P (SP)-positive sensory (afferent) nerves, the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT)-positive parasympathetic (efferent) nerves, and the tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive sympathetic (efferent) nerves. The SP+ afferent nerves were found residing along the basal domain of the interlobular ducts. The VAChT+ and TH+ efferent nerves were identified at the peri-acinar and perivascular spaces, which follow the blood vessels to the islets. In the intrapancreatic ganglia, the SP+ (scattered minority, ~7%) and VAChT+ neurons co-localize, suggesting a local afferent-efferent interaction. Compared with the mouse pancreas, the human pancreas differs in 1) the lack of SP+ afferent nerves in the islet, 2) the lower ganglionic density, and 3) the obvious presence of VAChT+ and TH+ nerves around the intralobular adipocytes. The latter implicates the neural influence on the pancreatic steatosis. Overall, our 3-D image data reveal the human pancreatic afferent and efferent innervation patterns and provide the anatomical foundation for future high-definition analyses of neural remodeling in human pancreatic diseases.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Modern three-dimensional (3-D) histology with multiplex optical signals identifies the afferent and efferent innervation patterns of human pancreas, which otherwise cannot be defined with standard histology. Our 3-D image data reveal the unexpected association of sensory and parasympathetic nerves/neurons in the intrapancreatic ganglia and identify the sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve contacts with the infiltrated adipocytes. The multiplex approach offers a new way to characterize the human pancreas in remodeling (e.g., fatty infiltration and duct lesion progression).

Pancreatic neuro-insular network in young mice revealed by 3D panoramic histology.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: It has been proposed that the neuro-insular network enables rapid, synchronised insulin secretion. However, to date, acquiring the pancreatic tissue map to study the neural network remains a challenging task as there is a lack of feasible approaches for large-scale tissue analysis at the organ level. Here, we have developed 3-dimensional (3D) panoramic histology to characterise the pancreatic neuro-insular network in young mice. METHODS: Pancreases harvested from young wild-type B6 mice (3 and 8 weeks old) and db/db mice (3 weeks old; db/db vs db/+) were used to develop 3D panoramic histology. Transparent pancreases were prepared by optical clearing to enable deep-tissue, tile-scanning microscopy for qualitative and quantitative analyses of islets and the pancreatic tissue network in space. RESULTS: 3D panoramic histology reveals the pancreatic neurovascular network and the coupling of ganglionic and islet populations via the network. This integration is identified in both 3- and 8-week-old mice, featuring the peri-arteriolar neuro-insular network and islet-ganglionic aggregation. In weaning hyperphagic db/db mice, the 3D image data identifies the associated increases in weight, adipose tissue attached to the pancreas, density of large islets (major axis > 150 µm) and pancreatic sympathetic innervation compared with db/+ mice. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Our work provides insight into the neuro-insular integration at the organ level and demonstrates a new approach for investigating previously unknown details of the pancreatic tissue network in health and disease.

Transparent tissue in solid state for solvent-free and antifade 3D imaging.

Optical clearing with high-refractive-index (high-n) reagents is essential for 3D tissue imaging. However, the current liquid-based clearing condition and dye environment suffer from solvent evaporation and photobleaching, causing difficulties in maintaining the tissue optical and fluorescent features. Here, using the Gladstone-Dale equation [(n-1)/density=constant] as a design concept, we develop a solid (solvent-free) high-n acrylamide-based copolymer to embed mouse and human tissues for clearing and imaging. In the solid state, the fluorescent dye-labeled tissue matrices are filled and packed with the high-n copolymer, minimizing scattering in in-depth imaging and dye fading. This transparent, liquid-free condition provides a friendly tissue and cellular environment to facilitate high/super-resolution 3D imaging, preservation, transfer, and sharing among laboratories to investigate the morphologies of interest in experimental and clinical conditions.

Identification of a gut microbiota member that ameliorates DSS-induced colitis in intestinal barrier enhanced Dusp6-deficient mice.

Strengthening the gut epithelial barrier is a potential strategy for management of gut microbiota-associated illnesses. Here, we demonstrate that dual-specificity phosphatase 6 (Dusp6) knockout enhances baseline colon barrier integrity and ameliorates dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colonic injury. DUSP6 mutation in Caco-2 cells enhances the epithelial feature and increases mitochondrial oxygen consumption, accompanied by altered glucose metabolism and decreased glycolysis. We find that Dusp6-knockout mice are more resistant to DSS-induced dysbiosis, and the cohousing and fecal microbiota transplantation experiments show that the gut/fecal microbiota derived from Dusp6-knockout mice also confers protection against colitis. Further culturomics and mono-colonialization experiments show that one gut microbiota member in the genus Duncaniella confers host protection from DSS-induced injury. We identify Dusp6 deficiency as beneficial for shaping the gut microbiota eubiosis necessary to protect against gut barrier-related diseases.

Lymphatic vessel remodeling and invasion in pancreatic cancer progression.

BACKGROUND: The lymphatic system is involved in metastasis in pancreatic cancer progression. In cancer staging, lymphatic spread has been used to assess the invasiveness of tumor cells. However, from the endothelium's perspective, the analysis downplays the peri-lesional activities of lymphatic vessels. This unintended bias is largely due to the lack of 3-dimensional (3-D) tissue information to depict the lesion microstructure and vasculature in a global and integrated fashion. METHODS: We targeted the pancreas as the model organ to investigate lymphatic vessel remodeling in cancer lesion progression. Transparent pancreases were prepared by tissue clearing to facilitate deep-tissue, tile-scanning microscopy for 3-D lymphatic network imaging. FINDINGS: In human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, we identify the close association between the pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) lesions and the lymphatic network. In mouse models of PanIN (elastase-CreER;LSL-KrasG12D and elastase-CreER;LSL-KrasG12D;p53+/-), the 3-D image data reveal the peri-lesional lymphangiogenesis, endothelial invagination, formation of the bridge/valve-like luminal tubules, vasodilation, and luminal invasion. In the orthotopic mouse model of pancreatic cancer, we identify the localized, graft-induced lymphangiogenesis and the peri- and intra-tumoral lymphatic vessel invasion. INTERPRETATION: The integrated view of duct lesions and vascular remodeling suggests an active role, rather than a passive target, of lymphatic vessels in the metastasis of pancreatic cancer. Our 3-D image data provide insights into the pancreatic cancer microenvironment and establish the technical and morphological foundation for systematic detection and 3-D analysis of lymphatic vessel invasion. FUND: Taiwan Academia Sinica (AS-107-TP-L15 and AS-105-TP-B15), Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST 106-2321-B-001-048, 106-0210-01-15-02, 106-2321-B-002-034, and 106-2314-B-007-004-MY2), and Taiwan National Health Research Institutes (NHRI EX107-10524EI).