Intravital Imaging of T Cells Within the Spinal Cord

Intravital imaging is a powerful tool for analyzing cellular functions in living animals. In particular, after the two-photon microscopy technique was introduced, a number of studies have visualized important processes. Here, we describe the methods for performing intravital imaging of the central nervous system. This method can be used for imaging not only lymphocytes but also blood vessels for ischemia studies, as well as glia cell activities.