COLOR-3D: a versatile tool for revealing novel 3D histological features

Abstract

Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) has been the fundamental method for visualising tissue morphology. Recent advances in tissue clearing and microscopy have enabled the observation of tissue morphology in 3D, but incomplete penetration of nucleic acid dyes has remained the bottleneck. To address this, we develop a new staining chemistry called Cyclodextrin and Organic solvent-assisted deep Labelling of ORgans in 3D (COLOR-3D), which attains the best penetration depth and homogeneity among state-of-the-art methods. We also demonstrate the scalability of COLOR-3D and its compatibility with other staining modalities. To bridge the gap between 3D histology and its wider application in biomedical research and histopathology, we develop a computational pipeline to convert 3D fluorescence images into bright-field H&E images, enabling the creation of a 3D atlas of both normal tissues and pathological specimens. Apart from qualitative observation of tissue morphology, COLOR-3D also enables quantitative analysis for studying biological phenomena. In the mouse liver, we discover rare populations of tetranuclear hepatocytes as well as m16n, t4n and t8n hepatocytes. We also propose the first structural model of the liver lobule based on 3D histology. With a more complete penetration, we reveal the following aging-related changes in tissue microarchitecture, including an increase in extreme nuclear polyploidy, and the disruption of vasculature and portal triad.