Abstract
The actin cytoskeleton is indispensable for the motility and migration of all types of cells; therefore, it plays a crucial role in the ability of the tissues to repair. Mesenchymal stem cells are intensively used in regenerative medicine, but usually relatively low percent of transplanted cells reaches the injury. To overcome this evident limitation, researchers try to enhance the motility and migration rate of the cells. As one of the approaches, co-cultivation and preconditioning of stem cells with biologically active compounds, which can cause actin cytoskeleton rearrangements followed by an increase of migratory properties of the cells, could be applied. The observed changes in F-actin structure induced by the compounds require quantitative estimation, and measurement of fluorescence intensity of the F-actin image captured by various microscopic techniques is commonly used nowadays. However, this approach could not always accurately detect the observed changes in the shape and structure of actin cytoskeleton. At this time, the image of F-actin has an irregular geometric pattern, and thus could be considered and characterized as a fractal object. To quantify the re-organization of cellular F-actin in terms of fractal geometry Minkovsky’s box-counting method is suitable, but it is not widely used nowadays. We modified and improved the previously described method for fractal dimension measurement, and successfully applied it for the quantification of the F-actin structures of human mesenchymal stem cells.
Highlights
Fractals are irregular geometric patterns that are characterized by self-similarity and complexity
To probe whether the calculation of fractal dimension (FD) could detect the changes in F-actin reorganization in MSCs we had performed the experiments on FRSN cells treated with latrunculin B (Lat B), a biologically active agent that blocks the polymerization of actin monomers (Fig 3)
We used cultured FRSN stem cell line as an experimental object that is characterized with developed actin cytoskeleton and prominent stress fibers
Summary
Fractals are irregular geometric patterns that are characterized by self-similarity and complexity. Traditional Euclidean geometry could not be applied to describe fractal objects as they have a non-integer value for their dimension, special fractal geometry is used to quantify the properties of the fractals [1]. Fractal dimension (FD) characterizes how fractal objects fill the space; the more space the object fills, the bigger is its FD. There are several fractal objects in cell biology, and fractal analysis was successfully applied as a quantification method to estimate the shape and morphology of neurons [2,3,4], membrane [5], cell boundaries [6], microtubules [7] and microfilaments [8].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
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
