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Xie DF, Crouzet C, LoPresti K, Wang Y, Robinson C, Jones W, Muqolli F, Fang C, Cribbs DH, Fisher M, Choi B. Semi-automated protocol to quantify and characterize fluorescent three-dimensional vascular images. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0289109. [PMID: 38753706 PMCID: PMC11098357 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
The microvasculature facilitates gas exchange, provides nutrients to cells, and regulates blood flow in response to stimuli. Vascular abnormalities are an indicator of pathology for various conditions, such as compromised vessel integrity in small vessel disease and angiogenesis in tumors. Traditional immunohistochemistry enables the visualization of tissue cross-sections containing exogenously labeled vasculature. Although this approach can be utilized to quantify vascular changes within small fields of view, it is not a practical way to study the vasculature on the scale of whole organs. Three-dimensional (3D) imaging presents a more appropriate method to visualize the vascular architecture in tissue. Here we describe the complete protocol that we use to characterize the vasculature of different organs in mice encompassing the methods to fluorescently label vessels, optically clear tissue, collect 3D vascular images, and quantify these vascular images with a semi-automated approach. To validate the automated segmentation of vascular images, one user manually segmented one hundred random regions of interest across different vascular images. The automated segmentation results had an average sensitivity of 83±11% and an average specificity of 91±6% when compared to manual segmentation. Applying this procedure of image analysis presents a method to reliably quantify and characterize vascular networks in a timely fashion. This procedure is also applicable to other methods of tissue clearing and vascular labels that generate 3D images of microvasculature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danny F. Xie
- Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States of America
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States of America
| | - Christian Crouzet
- Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States of America
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States of America
| | - Krystal LoPresti
- Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States of America
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States of America
| | - Yuke Wang
- Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States of America
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States of America
| | - Christopher Robinson
- Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States of America
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States of America
| | - William Jones
- Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States of America
| | - Fjolla Muqolli
- Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States of America
| | - Chuo Fang
- Department of Neurology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States of America
| | - David H. Cribbs
- Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States of America
| | - Mark Fisher
- Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States of America
- Department of Neurology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States of America
- Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States of America
- Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States of America
| | - Bernard Choi
- Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States of America
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States of America
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