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Dinčić M, Popović TB, Kojadinović M, Trbovich AM, Ilić AŽ. Morphological, fractal, and textural features for the blood cell classification: the case of acute myeloid leukemia. EUROPEAN BIOPHYSICS JOURNAL: EBJ 2021; 50:1111-1127. [PMID: 34642776 DOI: 10.1007/s00249-021-01574-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2020] [Revised: 08/15/2021] [Accepted: 10/03/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Microscopic examination of stained peripheral blood smears is, nowadays, an indispensable tool in the evaluation of patients with hematological and non-hematological diseases. While a rapid automated quantification of the regular blood cells is available, recognition and counting of immature white blood cells (WBC) still relies mostly on the microscopic examination of blood smears by an experienced observer. Recently, there are efforts to improve the prediction by various machine learning approaches. An open dataset collection including the recently digitalized single-cell images for 200 patients, from peripheral blood smears at 100 × magnification, was used. We studied different morphological, fractal, and textural descriptors for WBC classification, with an aim to indicate the most reliable parameters for the recognition of certain cell types. Structural properties of both the mature and non-mature leukocytes obtained from (i) acute myeloid leukemia patients, or (ii) non-malignant controls, were studied in depth, with a sample size of about 25 WBC per group. We quantified structural and textural differences and, based on the statistical ranges of parameters for different WBC types, selected eight features for classification: Cell area, Nucleus-to-cell ratio, Nucleus solidity, Fractal dimension, Correlation, Contrast, Homogeneity, and Energy. Classification Precision of up to 100% (80% on average) was achieved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marko Dinčić
- Institute of Pathological Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Dr Subotića 9, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Tamara B Popović
- Institute for Medical Research, Centre of Excellence in Nutrition and Metabolism, University of Belgrade, Tadeuša Košćuška 1, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia.
| | - Milica Kojadinović
- Institute for Medical Research, Centre of Excellence in Nutrition and Metabolism, University of Belgrade, Tadeuša Košćuška 1, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Alexander M Trbovich
- Institute of Pathological Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Dr Subotića 9, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Andjelija Ž Ilić
- Institute of Physics Belgrade, University of Belgrade, Pregrevica 118, Zemun, 11080, Belgrade, Serbia.
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McErlean EM, Ziminska M, McCrudden CM, McBride JW, Loughran SP, Cole G, Mulholland EJ, Kett V, Buckley NE, Robson T, Dunne NJ, McCarthy HO. Rational design and characterisation of a linear cell penetrating peptide for non-viral gene delivery. J Control Release 2020; 330:1288-1299. [PMID: 33227336 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2020.11.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2020] [Revised: 11/16/2020] [Accepted: 11/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
The design of a non-viral gene delivery system that can release a functional nucleic acid at the intracellular destination site is an exciting but also challenging proposition. The ideal gene delivery vector must be non-toxic, non-immunogenic, overcome extra- and intra-cellular barriers, protect the nucleic acid cargo from degradation with stability over a range of temperatures. A new 15 amino acid linear peptide termed CHAT was designed in this study with the goal of delivering DNA with high efficiency into cells in vitro and tissues in vivo. Rational design involved incorporation of key amino acids including arginine for nucleic acid complexation and cellular uptake, tryptophan to enhance hydrophobic interaction with cell membranes, histidine to facilitate endosomal escape and cysteine for stability and controlled cargo release. Six linear peptides were synthesised with strategic sequences and amino acid substitutions. Data demonstrated that all six peptides complexed pDNA to produce cationic nanoparticles less than 200 nm in diameter, but not all peptides resulted in successful transfection; indicating the influence of peptide design for endosomal escape. Peptide 4, now termed CHAT, was non-cytotoxic, traversed the plasma membrane of breast and prostate cancer cell lines, and elicited reporter-gene expression following intra-tumoural and intravenous delivery in vivo. CHAT presents an exciting new peptide for the delivery of nucleic acid therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma M McErlean
- School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK
| | - Monika Ziminska
- School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK
| | - Cian M McCrudden
- School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK
| | - John W McBride
- School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK
| | - Stephen P Loughran
- School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK
| | - Grace Cole
- School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK
| | - Eoghan J Mulholland
- School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK
| | - Vicky Kett
- School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK
| | - Niamh E Buckley
- School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK
| | - Tracy Robson
- School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Royal College of Surgeons Ireland, 111 St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Nicholas J Dunne
- School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK; School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Dublin City University, Dublin 9, Ireland; Centre for Medical Engineering Research, School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Dublin City University, Dublin 9, Ireland; Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, School of Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland; Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (I-Form), School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Dublin City University, Glasnevin, Dublin 9, Ireland; Advanced Materials and Bioengineering Research Centre (AMBER), Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; Advanced Materials and Bioengineering Research Centre (AMBER), Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland; Trinity Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Helen O McCarthy
- School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK; School of Chemical Sciences, Dublin City University, Dublin 9, Ireland.
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Dudek G, Borys P, Strzelewicz A, Krasowska M. Characterization of the Structure and Transport Properties of Alginate/Chitosan Microparticle Membranes Utilized in the Pervaporative Dehydration of Ethanol. Polymers (Basel) 2020; 12:E411. [PMID: 32054056 PMCID: PMC7077690 DOI: 10.3390/polym12020411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2020] [Revised: 02/05/2020] [Accepted: 02/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The structure and transport properties of alginate/chitosan microparticle membranes used in ethanol dehydration processes were investigated. The membranes were characterized based on images obtained from high-resolution microscopy. The following parameters were determined: the observed total amount of void space, the average size of the void domains, their length and diameter, the fractal dimension, and the generalized stochastic fractal parameters. The total amount of void space was determined to be between 54% and 64%. The average size of the void domains is smaller for alginate membranes containing neat (CS) and phosphorylated (CS-P) chitosan particles when compared to those membranes filled with glycidol-modified (CS-G) and glutaraldehyde crosslinked (CS-GA) chitosan particles. Furthermore, the transport of ethanol and water particles through the studied membranes was modelled using a random walk framework. It was observed that the results from the theoretical and experimental studies are directly correlated. The smallest values of water to ethanol diffusion coefficient ratios (i.e., 14) were obtained for Alg (sodium alginate) membranes loaded with the CS and CS-P particles, respectively. Significantly larger values (27 and 19) were noted for membranes filled with CS-G and CS-GA particles, respectively. The simulation results show that the size of channels which develop in the alginate matrix is less suited for ethanol molecules compared to water molecules because of their larger size. Such a situation facilitates the separation of water from ethanol. The comparison of the structural analysis of the membranes and random walk simulations allows one to understand the factors that influence the transport phenomena, in the studied membranes, and comment on the effect of the length, diameter, number of channels, and variations in the pore diameters on these transport parameters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela Dudek
- Department of Physical Chemistry and Technology of Polymers, Faculty of Chemistry, Silesian University of Technology, Strzody 9, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland; (P.B.); (A.S.); (M.K.)
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Zade MA, Khodadadi H. Fuzzy controller design for breast cancer treatment based on fractal dimension using breast thermograms. IET Syst Biol 2019; 13:1-7. [PMID: 30774110 DOI: 10.1049/iet-syb.2018.5020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
In this study, three non-linear indices consist of compression, one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) fractal dimensions are used for the determination of the malignancy or benignity of cancer tumours in breast thermograms. On the other hand, by developing the high-precision infrared cameras as well as new methods of image processing, biomedical thermography images have found a prominent position among the others. Furthermore, cancerous tissue can be affected by the laser. In this study, in order to treat the cancerous lesion identified by breast thermograms, the laser parameters are designed. The basis of controller designing is the obtained non-linear indices. If the indices are moved from the chaotic behaviour to normal condition, the treating tissue is going from cancerous to a healthy condition and the treatment process is completed. Radiation frequency and the energy density of laser are designed as two key elements in the cancer treatment. In this study, the type I and type II fuzzy controllers are employed for the control strategies. Using the proposed closed-loop control, the non-linear indices of the cancerous lesion will be reduced during the treatment process. The simulation results on two datasets of breast thermograms indicate the superiority of type II fuzzy controller.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Arab Zade
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Khomeinishahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran
| | - Hamed Khodadadi
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Khomeinishahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran.
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Structure, morphology and separation efficiency of hybrid Alg/Fe 3 O 4 membranes in pervaporative dehydration of ethanol. Sep Purif Technol 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.seppur.2017.03.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Spyropoulos-Antonakakis N, Sarantopoulou E, Trohopoulos PN, Stefi AL, Kollia Z, Gavriil VE, Bourkoula A, Petrou PS, Kakabakos S, Semashko VV, Nizamutdinov AS, Cefalas AC. Selective aggregation of PAMAM dendrimer nanocarriers and PAMAM/ZnPc nanodrugs on human atheromatous carotid tissues: a photodynamic therapy for atherosclerosis. NANOSCALE RESEARCH LETTERS 2015; 10:210. [PMID: 25991914 PMCID: PMC4431993 DOI: 10.1186/s11671-015-0904-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2015] [Accepted: 04/16/2015] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) involves the action of photons on photosensitive molecules, where atomic oxygen or OH(-) molecular species are locally released on pathogenic human cells, which are mainly carcinogenic, thus causing cell necrosis. The efficacy of PDT depends on the local nanothermodynamic conditions near the cell/nanodrug system that control both the level of intracellular translocation of nanoparticles in the pathogenic cell and their agglomeration on the cell membrane. Dendrimers are considered one of the most effective and promising drug carriers because of their relatively low toxicity and negligible activation of complementary reactions. Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrite delivery of PDT agents has been investigated in the last few years for tumour selectivity, retention, pharmacokinetics and water solubility. Nevertheless, their use as drug carriers of photosensitizing molecules in PDT for cardiovascular disease, targeting the selective necrosis of macrophage cells responsible for atheromatous plaque growth, has never been investigated. Furthermore, the level of aggregation, translocation and nanodrug delivery efficacy of PAMAM dendrimers or PAMAM/zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) conjugates on human atheromatous tissue and endothelial cells is still unknown. In this work, the aggregation of PAMAM zero generation dendrimers (G0) acting as drug delivery carriers, as well as conjugated G0 PAMAM dendrimers with a ZnPc photosensitizer, to symptomatic and asymptomatic human carotid tissues was investigated by using atomic force microscopy (AFM). For the evaluation of the texture characteristics of the AFM images, statistical surface morphological and fractal analytical methodologies and Minkowski functionals were used. All statistical quantities showed that the deposition of nanodrug carriers on healthy tissue has an inverse impact when comparing to the deposition on atheromatous tissue with different aggregation features between G0 and G0/ZnPc nanoparticles and with considerably larger G0/ZnPc aggregations on the atheromatous plaque. The results highlight the importance of using PAMAM dendrimer carriers as a novel and promising PDT platform for atherosclerosis therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikolaos Spyropoulos-Antonakakis
- />National Hellenic Research Foundation, Theoretical and Physical Chemistry Institute, 48 Vassileos Constantinou Avenue, Athens, GR-11635 Greece
| | - Evangelia Sarantopoulou
- />National Hellenic Research Foundation, Theoretical and Physical Chemistry Institute, 48 Vassileos Constantinou Avenue, Athens, GR-11635 Greece
| | | | - Aikaterina L Stefi
- />National Hellenic Research Foundation, Theoretical and Physical Chemistry Institute, 48 Vassileos Constantinou Avenue, Athens, GR-11635 Greece
| | - Zoe Kollia
- />National Hellenic Research Foundation, Theoretical and Physical Chemistry Institute, 48 Vassileos Constantinou Avenue, Athens, GR-11635 Greece
| | - Vassilios E Gavriil
- />National Hellenic Research Foundation, Theoretical and Physical Chemistry Institute, 48 Vassileos Constantinou Avenue, Athens, GR-11635 Greece
| | - Athanasia Bourkoula
- />N.C.S.R. ‘Demokritos’, Institute for Nuclear and Radiological Sciences, Energy, Technology and Safety, Patriarchou Grigoriou Street, Athens, GR-15310 Greece
| | - Panagiota S Petrou
- />N.C.S.R. ‘Demokritos’, Institute for Nuclear and Radiological Sciences, Energy, Technology and Safety, Patriarchou Grigoriou Street, Athens, GR-15310 Greece
| | - Sotirios Kakabakos
- />N.C.S.R. ‘Demokritos’, Institute for Nuclear and Radiological Sciences, Energy, Technology and Safety, Patriarchou Grigoriou Street, Athens, GR-15310 Greece
| | - Vadim V Semashko
- />Institute of Physics, Kazan Federal University, 18 Kremljovskaja Street, Kazan, 420008 Russia
| | - Alexey S Nizamutdinov
- />Institute of Physics, Kazan Federal University, 18 Kremljovskaja Street, Kazan, 420008 Russia
| | - Alkiviadis-Constantinos Cefalas
- />National Hellenic Research Foundation, Theoretical and Physical Chemistry Institute, 48 Vassileos Constantinou Avenue, Athens, GR-11635 Greece
- />Institute of Physics, Kazan Federal University, 18 Kremljovskaja Street, Kazan, 420008 Russia
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Hwang JY, Lee NS, Lee C, Lam KH, Kim HH, Woo J, Lin MY, Kisler K, Choi H, Zhou Q, Chow RH, Shung KK. Investigating contactless high frequency ultrasound microbeam stimulation for determination of invasion potential of breast cancer cells. Biotechnol Bioeng 2013; 110:2697-705. [PMID: 23568761 DOI: 10.1002/bit.24923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2012] [Revised: 02/11/2013] [Accepted: 03/25/2013] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
In this article, we investigate the application of contactless high frequency ultrasound microbeam stimulation (HFUMS) for determining the invasion potential of breast cancer cells. In breast cancer patients, the finding of tumor metastasis significantly worsens the clinical prognosis. Thus, early determination of the potential of a tumor for invasion and metastasis would significantly impact decisions about aggressiveness of cancer treatment. Recent work suggests that invasive breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231), but not weakly invasive breast cancer cells (MCF-7, SKBR3, and BT-474), display a number of neuronal characteristics, including expression of voltage-gated sodium channels. Since sodium channels are often co-expressed with calcium channels, this prompted us to test whether single-cell stimulation by a highly focused ultrasound microbeam would trigger Ca(2+) elevation, especially in highly invasive breast cancer cells. To calibrate the diameter of the microbeam ultrasound produced by a 200-MHz single element LiNbO3 transducer, we focused the beam on a wire target and performed a pulse-echo test. The width of the beam was ∼17 µm, appropriate for single cell stimulation. Membrane-permeant fluorescent Ca(2+) indicators were utilized to monitor Ca(2+) changes in the cells due to HFUMS. The cell response index (CRI), which is a composite parameter reflecting both Ca(2+) elevation and the fraction of responding cells elicited by HFUMS, was much greater in highly invasive breast cancer cells than in the weakly invasive breast cancer cells. The CRI of MDA-MB-231 cells depended on peak-to-peak amplitude of the voltage driving the transducer. These results suggest that HFUMS may serve as a novel tool to determine the invasion potential of breast cancer cells, and with further refinement may offer a rapid test for invasiveness of tumor biopsies in situ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jae Youn Hwang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA
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Structure morphology problems in the air separation by polymer membranes with magnetic particles. J Memb Sci 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2012.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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Brackenbury WJ. Voltage-gated sodium channels and metastatic disease. Channels (Austin) 2012; 6:352-61. [PMID: 22992466 DOI: 10.4161/chan.21910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 127] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Voltage-gated Na (+) channels (VGSCs) are macromolecular protein complexes containing a pore-forming α subunit and smaller non-pore-forming β subunits. VGSCs are expressed in metastatic cells from a number of cancers. In these cells, Na (+) current carried by α subunits enhances migration, invasion and metastasis in vivo. In contrast, the β subunits mediate cellular adhesion and process extension. The prevailing hypothesis is that VGSCs are upregulated in cancer, in general favoring an invasive/metastatic phenotype, although the mechanisms are still not fully clear. Expression of the Nav 1.5 α subunit associates with poor prognosis in clinical breast cancer specimens, suggesting that VGSCs may have utility as prognostic markers for cancer progression. Furthermore, repurposing existing VGSC-blocking therapeutic drugs may provide a new strategy to improve outcomes in patients suffering from metastatic disease, which is the major cause of cancer-related deaths, and for which there is currently no cure.
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Rybak A, Strzelewicz A, Krasowska M, Dudek G, Grzywna ZJ. Influence of Various Parameters on the Air Separation Process by Magnetic Membranes. SEP SCI TECHNOL 2012. [DOI: 10.1080/01496395.2012.672509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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