Serial sectioning and three-dimensional reconstruction of mouse Peyer's patch.

Peyer's patches (PPs) are typical gut-associated lymphoid tissues that are located along the wall of the small intestine and that serve as the major sites for generation of immunity to intestinal antigens. Their unique micro-organization is crucial for the generation of the immune response. Although many studies have been reported on the functional anatomy of PP, most investigations have relied on the random sampling of these organs, a procedure that is insufficient for the systemic scanning of the whole tissue or organ. By combining a variety of methods, we have accomplished 3D reconstructions of Peyer's patch. The complex reconstruction procedure includes several steps. First, the PP are serially sectioned at a thickness of 10 microm with a cryostat; (b) the serial sections are stained with haematoxylin-eosin; (c) multiple images from the PP are acquired with an automatic microscope and stitched together with Image Pro Plus to generate a composite image for the whole organ; (d) the serial images are reconstructed with Image J, Reconstruct and 3D Studio Max. The combinational approaches that we present here should be of value when extrapolated to the reconstruction of other tissues or organs. Moreover, the 3D model that we have created and our stereological analysis should be extremely helpful for further in vivo microscopic studies of PP with respect to the immune response.