- Lin, Ya-Hui;
- Wang, Li-Wen;
- Chen, Yen-Hui;
- Chan, Yi-Chieh;
- Hu, Shang-Hsiu;
- Wu, Sheng-Yan;
- Chiang, Chi-Shiun;
- Huang, Guan-Jie;
- Yang, Shang-Da;
- Chu, Shi-Wei;
- Wang, Kuo-Chuan;
- Lin, Chin-Hsien;
- Huang, Pei-Hsin;
- Chen, Bi-Chang;
- Chu, Li-An;
- Cheng, Hwai-Jong
Tissue-clearing and labeling techniques have revolutionized brain-wide imaging and analysis, yet their application to clinical formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) blocks remains challenging. We introduce HIF-Clear, a novel method for efficiently clearing and labeling centimeter-thick FFPE specimens using elevated temperature and concentrated detergents. HIF-Clear with multi-round immunolabeling reveals neuron circuitry regulating multiple neurotransmitter systems in a whole FFPE mouse brain and is able to be used as the evaluation of disease treatment efficiency. HIF-Clear also supports expansion microscopy and can be performed on a non-sectioned 15-year-old FFPE specimen, as well as a 3-month formalin-fixed mouse brain. Thus, HIF-Clear represents a feasible approach for researching archived FFPE specimens for future neuroscientific and 3D neuropathological analyses.