Abstract
Immunohistochemistry for vascular network analysis plays a fundamental role in basic science, translational research and clinical practice. However, identifying vascularization in histological tissue images is time consuming and markedly depends on the operator’s experience. In this study, we present “blood vessel detection—BVD”, an automatic algorithm for quantitative analysis of blood vessels in immunohistochemical images. BVD is based on extraction and analysis of low-level image features and spatial filtering techniques, which do not require a training phase. BVD algorithm performance was comparatively evaluated on histological sections from three different in vivo experiments. Collectively, 173 independent images were analyzed, and the algorithm's results were compared to those obtained by human operators. The developed BVD algorithm proved to be a robust and versatile tool, being able to quantify number, area, and spatial distribution of blood vessels within all three considered histologic datasets. BVD is provided as an open-source application working on different operating systems. BVD is supported by a user-friendly graphical interface designed to facilitate large-scale analysis.
Highlights
The evaluation of angiogenesis and neovascularization has a crucial role in numerous pathological conditions, including lower-extremity peripheral artery disease20 that is associated with insufficient blood supply, or chronic inflammatory diseases6 and cancer,13,14 where Blood Vessel (BV) spatial density and morphology are used to monitor tumor progression.2,4 BV quantification is relevant for tissue engineering applications as well,7,8 as the development of a functional vascular network constitutes an essential element in endogenous tissue growth,34 healing, tissue repair and de novo tissue formation.4,36Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a powerful technique to identify specific structures in cells of a tissue section
In addition to the scaffold designed for the controlled release, two controlled groups were considered: a polymeric scaffold integrated with Extracellular Matrix (ECM) but not carrying the poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) particles for the drug release, and a simple polymeric scaffold not loaded with particles nor integrated with ECM gel
A single measure of performance is provided by the F-measure value, which is defined as the harmonic mean of precision and recall
Summary
The evaluation of angiogenesis and neovascularization has a crucial role in numerous pathological conditions, including lower-extremity peripheral artery disease that is associated with insufficient blood supply, or chronic inflammatory diseases and cancer, where Blood Vessel (BV) spatial density and morphology are used to monitor tumor progression.. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a powerful technique to identify specific structures in cells of a tissue section. Immunofluorescence (IF) is a specific example of IHC. In both cases, IHC and IF, a primary antibody is used against a target molecule within the section, and a marked secondary antibody is used to visualize the molecule distribution. IHC target molecules can be visualized with visible light using chromogenic dyes; on the other hand, IF uses fluorescence probes, and the
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call