Characterization of eosinophilic esophagitis murine models using optical coherence tomography

Pre-clinical studies using murine models are critical for understanding the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying immunemediated disorders such as Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). In this study, an optical coherence tomography (OCT) system capable of providing threedimensional images with axial and transverse resolutions of 5 μm and 10 μm, respectively, was utilized to obtain esophageal images from a murine model of EoE-like disease ex vivo. Structural changes in the esophagus of wild-type (Tslpr^+/+) and mutant (Tslpr^-/-) mice with EoE-like disease were quantitatively evaluated and food impaction sites in the esophagus of diseased mice were monitored using OCT. Here, the capability of OCT as a label-free imaging tool devoid of tissue-processing artifacts to effectively characterize murine EoE-like disease models has been demonstrated.