Journal article
Stereological assessment of mouse lung parenchyma via nondestructive, multiscale micro-CT imaging validated by light microscopic histology
Journal of applied physiology (1985), Vol.114(6), pp.716-724
03/15/2013
DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00855.2012
PMCID: PMC3615598
PMID: 23264542
Abstract
Quantitative assessment of the lung microstructure using standard stereological methods such as volume fractions of tissue, alveolar surface area, or number of alveoli, are essential for understanding the state of normal and diseased lung. These measures are traditionally obtained from histological sections of the lung tissue, a process that ultimately destroys the three-dimensional (3-D) anatomy of the tissue. In comparison, a novel X-ray-based imaging method that allows nondestructive sectioning and imaging of fixed lungs at multiple resolutions can overcome this limitation. Scanning of the whole lung at high resolution and subsequent regional sampling at ultrahigh resolution without physically dissecting the organ allows the application of design-based stereology for assessment of the whole lung structure. Here we validate multiple stereological estimates performed on micro–computed tomography (μCT) images by comparing them with those obtained via conventional histology on the same mouse lungs. We explore and discuss the potentials and limitations of the two approaches. Histological examination offers higher resolution and the qualitative differentiation of tissues by staining, but ultimately loses 3-D tissue relationships, whereas μCT allows for the integration of morphometric data with the spatial complexity of lung structure. However, μCT has limited resolution satisfactory for the sterological estimates presented in this study but not for differentiation of tissues. We conclude that introducing stereological methods in μCT studies adds value by providing quantitative information on internal structures while not curtailing more complex approaches to the study of lung architecture in the context of physiological or pathological studies.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Stereological assessment of mouse lung parenchyma via nondestructive, multiscale micro-CT imaging validated by light microscopic histology
- Creators
- Dragoş M Vasilescu - Department of Radiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IowaChristine Klinge - Institute of Functional and Applied Anatomy, Hannover Medical School and Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Hannover, GermanyLars Knudsen - Institute of Functional and Applied Anatomy, Hannover Medical School and Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Hannover, GermanyLeilei Yin - Beckman Institute, University of Illinois, Urbana, IllinoisGe Wang - Biomedical Engineering & Sciences, Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, VirginiaEwald R Weibel - Institute of Anatomy, University of Bern, Bern, SwitzerlandMatthias Ochs - Institute of Functional and Applied Anatomy, Hannover Medical School and Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Hannover, GermanyEric A Hoffman - Department of Radiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of applied physiology (1985), Vol.114(6), pp.716-724
- DOI
- 10.1152/japplphysiol.00855.2012
- PMID
- 23264542
- PMCID
- PMC3615598
- NLM abbreviation
- J Appl Physiol (1985)
- ISSN
- 8750-7587
- eISSN
- 1522-1601
- Publisher
- American Physiological Society; Bethesda, MD
- Grant note
- R01-HL-080285; 1-S10-RR019242-01 / National Institutes of Health
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 03/15/2013
- Academic Unit
- Roy J. Carver Department of Biomedical Engineering; Radiology; Internal Medicine
- Record Identifier
- 9984051890502771
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