Local fractal dimension of collagen detects increased spatial complexity in fibrosis

Dylan T Casey; Karolyn G Lahue; Vitor Mori; Jacob Herrmann; Joseph K Hall; Béla Suki; Yvonne M W Janssen-Heininger; Jason H T Bates

doi:10.1007/s00418-023-02248-8

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$Local fractal dimension of collagen detects increased spatial complexity in fibrosis$

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Local fractal dimension of collagen detects increased spatial complexity in fibrosis

Dylan T Casey, Karolyn G Lahue, Vitor Mori, Jacob Herrmann, Joseph K Hall, Béla Suki, Yvonne M W Janssen-Heininger and Jason H T Bates

Histochemistry and cell biology, Vol.161(1), pp.29-42

01/2024

DOI: 10.1007/s00418-023-02248-8

PMCID: PMC10794291

PMID: 37938346

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Abstract

Increase of collagen content and reorganization characterizes fibrosis but quantifying the latter remains challenging. Spatially complex structures are often analyzed via the fractal dimension; however, established methods for calculating this quantity either provide a single dimension for an entire object or a spatially distributed dimension that only considers binary images. These neglect valuable information related to collagen density in images of fibrotic tissue. We sought to develop a fractal analysis that can be applied to 3-dimensional (3D) images of fibrotic tissue. A fractal dimension map for each image was calculated by determining a single fractal dimension for a small area surrounding each image pixel, using fiber thickness as the third dimension. We found that this local fractal dimension increased with age and with progression of fibrosis regardless of collagen content. Our new method of distributed 3D fractal analysis can thus distinguish between changes in collagen content and organization induced by fibrosis.

Details

Title: Subtitle: Local fractal dimension of collagen detects increased spatial complexity in fibrosis
Creators: Dylan T Casey - University of Vermont
Karolyn G Lahue - University of Vermont
Vitor Mori - University of Vermont
Jacob Herrmann - University of Iowa
Joseph K Hall - Boston University
Béla Suki - Boston University
Yvonne M W Janssen-Heininger
Jason H T Bates - University of Vermont
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Histochemistry and cell biology, Vol.161(1), pp.29-42
DOI: 10.1007/s00418-023-02248-8
PMID: 37938346
PMCID: PMC10794291
NLM abbreviation: Histochem Cell Biol
eISSN: 1432-119X
Grant note: DOI: 10.13039/100000002, name: National Institutes of Health, award: T32 HL076122, R35 HL135828, U01 HL139466, U01 HL139466, U01 HL139466, U01 HL139466, R35 HL135828, U01 HL139466
Language: English
Electronic publication date: 11/08/2023
Date published: 01/2024
Academic Unit: Roy J. Carver Department of Biomedical Engineering
Record Identifier: 9984507024402771

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