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Walsh CL, Tafforeau P, Wagner WL, Jafree DJ, Bellier A, Werlein C, Kühnel MP, Boller E, Walker-Samuel S, Robertus JL, Long DA, Jacob J, Marussi S, Brown E, Holroyd N, Jonigk DD, Ackermann M, Lee PD. Imaging intact human organs with local resolution of cellular structures using hierarchical phase-contrast tomography. Nat Methods 2021; 18:1532-1541. [PMID: 34737453 PMCID: PMC8648561 DOI: 10.1038/s41592-021-01317-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Imaging intact human organs from the organ to the cellular scale in three dimensions is a goal of biomedical imaging. To meet this challenge, we developed hierarchical phase-contrast tomography (HiP-CT), an X-ray phase propagation technique using the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF)'s Extremely Brilliant Source (EBS). The spatial coherence of the ESRF-EBS combined with our beamline equipment, sample preparation and scanning developments enabled us to perform non-destructive, three-dimensional (3D) scans with hierarchically increasing resolution at any location in whole human organs. We applied HiP-CT to image five intact human organ types: brain, lung, heart, kidney and spleen. HiP-CT provided a structural overview of each whole organ followed by multiple higher-resolution volumes of interest, capturing organotypic functional units and certain individual specialized cells within intact human organs. We demonstrate the potential applications of HiP-CT through quantification and morphometry of glomeruli in an intact human kidney and identification of regional changes in the tissue architecture in a lung from a deceased donor with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
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Affiliation(s)
- C L Walsh
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, London, UK.
- Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging, University College London, London, UK.
| | - P Tafforeau
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Grenoble, France.
| | - W L Wagner
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
- German Lung Research Centre (DZL), Translational Lung Research Centre Heidelberg (TLRC), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - D J Jafree
- Developmental Biology and Cancer Programme, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK
- UCL MB/PhD Programme, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University College London, London, UK
| | - A Bellier
- French Alps Laboratory of Anatomy (LADAF), Grenoble Alpes University, Grenoble, France
| | - C Werlein
- Institute of Pathology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - M P Kühnel
- Institute of Pathology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Biomedical Research in Endstage and Obstructive Lung Disease Hannover (BREATH), Hannover, Germany
| | - E Boller
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Grenoble, France
| | - S Walker-Samuel
- Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging, University College London, London, UK
| | - J L Robertus
- Department of Histopathology, Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
- National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - D A Long
- Developmental Biology and Cancer Programme, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK
| | - J Jacob
- Centre for Medical Image Computing, University College London, London, UK
- UCL Respiratory, University College London, London, UK
| | - S Marussi
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, London, UK
| | - E Brown
- Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging, University College London, London, UK
| | - N Holroyd
- Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging, University College London, London, UK
| | - D D Jonigk
- Institute of Pathology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
- German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Biomedical Research in Endstage and Obstructive Lung Disease Hannover (BREATH), Hannover, Germany.
| | - M Ackermann
- Institute of Functional and Clinical Anatomy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
- Institute of Pathology and Department of Molecular Pathology, Helios University Clinic Wuppertal, University of Witten-Herdecke, Wuppertal, Germany.
| | - P D Lee
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, London, UK.
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Walsh C, Tafforeau P, Wagner WL, Jafree DJ, Bellier A, Werlein C, Kühnel MP, Boller E, Walker-Samuel S, Robertus JL, Long DA, Jacob J, Marussi S, Brown E, Holroyd N, Jonigk DD, Ackermann M, Lee PD. Multiscale three-dimensional imaging of intact human organs down to the cellular scale using hierarchical phase-contrast tomography. bioRxiv 2021:2021.02.03.429481. [PMID: 33564772 PMCID: PMC7872374 DOI: 10.1101/2021.02.03.429481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Human organs are complex, three-dimensional and multiscale systems. Spatially mapping the human body down through its hierarchy, from entire organs to their individual functional units and specialised cells, is a major obstacle to fully understanding health and disease. To meet this challenge, we developed hierarchical phase-contrast tomography (HiP-CT), an X-ray phase propagation technique utilising the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility's Extremely Brilliant Source: the world's first high-energy 4 th generation X-ray source. HiP-CT enabled three-dimensional and non-destructive imaging at near-micron resolution in soft tissues at one hundred thousand times the voxel size whilst maintaining the organ's structure. We applied HiP-CT to image five intact human parenchymal organs: brain, lung, heart, kidney and spleen. These were hierarchically assessed with HiP-CT, providing a structural overview of the whole organ alongside detail of the organ's individual functional units and cells. The potential applications of HiP-CT were demonstrated through quantification and morphometry of glomeruli in an intact human kidney, and identification of regional changes to the architecture of the air-tissue interface and alveolar morphology in the lung of a deceased COVID-19 patient. Overall, we show that HiP-CT is a powerful tool which can provide a comprehensive picture of structural information for whole intact human organs, encompassing precise details on functional units and their constituent cells to better understand human health and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Walsh
- Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging, University College London, U.K
| | - P Tafforeau
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Grenoble, France
| | - Willi L Wagner
- Dept of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany Translational Lung Research Centre Heidelberg (TLRC), German Lung Research Centre (DZL), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - D J Jafree
- Developmental Biology and Cancer Programme, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, UK
- UCL MB/PhD Programme, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University College London, UK
| | - A Bellier
- French Alps Laboratory of Anatomy (LADAF), Grenoble Alpes University, Grenoble, France
| | - C Werlein
- Institute of Pathology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany (Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, 30625 Hannover)
| | - M P Kühnel
- Institute of Pathology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany (Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, 30625 Hannover)
- Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Biomedical Research in Endstage and Obstructive Lung Disease Hannover (BREATH)
| | - E Boller
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Grenoble, France
| | - S Walker-Samuel
- Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging, University College London, U.K
| | - J L Robertus
- Department of Histopathology, Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
- National Heart & Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - D A Long
- Developmental Biology and Cancer Programme, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, UK
| | - J Jacob
- Centre for Medical Image Computing, University College London, London, UK
- Department of Radiology, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - S Marussi
- Department of Mechanical Engineering University College London, U.K
| | - E Brown
- Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging, University College London, U.K
| | - N Holroyd
- Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging, University College London, U.K
| | - D D Jonigk
- Institute of Pathology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany (Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, 30625 Hannover)
- Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Biomedical Research in Endstage and Obstructive Lung Disease Hannover (BREATH)
| | - M Ackermann
- Institute of Functional and Clinical Anatomy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz
| | - P D Lee
- Department of Mechanical Engineering University College London, U.K
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