Objective evaluation of fibrosis in human testicular biopsies by analysis based on optical diffractometry.

Bilateral testicular biopsies were obtained from 27 patients and submitted to two different treatments for each of them: firstly, a classical fixation and colouring, permitting the histopathological diagnosis and subjective appreciation of the degree of fibrosis; secondly, a new objective technique based on optical diffractometry: this method is based on the analysis of light intensity distribution in the diffraction pattern of an original image. Using two different methods of discriminant analysis, we observed some errors due to the subjective examination; in particular, several fibrosed samples had been judged as 'normal' by the histopathologist. Moreover, we showed the existence of some heterogeneity between different slides from the same original biopsy.

Numerical evaluation of changes in the cytoplasmic microtubule complex of C3H mouse cells by optical diffractometry and of changes in cell shape by Fourier analysis.

MO mouse cells in culture on glass were treated with taxol, or nocodazole, or incubated at 4 degrees C to alter their cytoplasmic microtubule complex (CMTC). From each treated group and from an untreated group, 30 cells stained with an antiserum against tubulin, were photographed under the photomicroscope, and negatives were analysed by optical diffractometry. Differences between groups of cells were tested by variance analysis. Phase-contrast micrographs of the same cells were used for Fourier analysis of cell shape. Both types of analyses provided numerical objective data about changes in the CMTC and in cell shape that were typical for the kind of treatment. We conclude that optical diffractometry of immunostained cells and Fourier analysis of cell shape are complementary to photomicroscopy for the study of the CMTC in cell populations cultured on an artificial substrate.

Application of optical diffractometry in studies of cell fine structure. Comparison of arterial smooth muscle cells in contractile and synthetic state.

Arterial smooth muscle cells in contractile and synthetic state were analyzed by optical diffractometry. Cell sections (80-90 nm) were photographed in an electron microscope and diffraction patterns of the plates (negatives) were produced using a helium-neon laser. Radial and angular distributions of light intensity in the diffractograms were measured and digitized using an electronic detector plate consisting of ring- and wedge-shaped photosensitive elements; radial distributions provide information about size of structures and distances between them and angular distributions about spatial orientation of structures in the images. Micrographs of nuclei and cytoplasm were analyzed separately (40-50 plates in each group). Computerized statistical analysis of radial distributions of light intensity showed that the nuclear chromatin pattern differed between cells in contractile and synthetic state. The probability that the observed difference could have arisen purely by chance was less than 10(-5). Computer-aided classification to the a priori known cell group was correct in 96.5% of the cases. Analysis of radial distributions of light intensity similarly showed marked differences in cytoplasmic structure between cells in contractile state (dominated by bundles of myofilaments) and synthetic state (dominated by cisternae of rough endoplasmic reticulum). The probability that the observed difference could have arisen purely by chance was less than 10(-5). Computer-aided classification to the a priori known cell group was correct in 92.0% of the cases. In contrast, analysis of angular distributions of light intensity did not indicate any statistically significant differences between contractile and synthetic state cells. A likely reason is that both myofilaments and cisternae of rough endoplasmic reticulum were arranged in parallel. The results demonstrate that optical diffractometry is a useful method for image analysis in studies of cell fine structure. It provides information about size and orientation of structures with poorly defined shape and is particularly well suited for studies on cell differentiation and effects of pharmacological and other experimental treatments on cell fine structure. It represents an alternative and a complement to stereology for quantitative and objective evaluation of morphological data.

Optical diffraction as a tool for semiautomatic, quantitative analysis of tissue specimens.

Optical diffraction was tested on electron micrographs of normal and malformed myelin sheaths as a method for semiautomatic quantitative analysis of tissue specimens. Both normal and malformed myelin sheaths were chosen for the analysis because of their characteristic internal structure and its alteration as a result of malformation. Optical diffraction patterns were obtained by means of an optical diffractometer coupled with a digital detector. The spacing and arrangement of the components of various types of myelin sheath were automatically calculated and determined and the results were verified with discriminant analysis. Out of 27 parameters of the radial and out of 25 parameters of the angular distributions of diffracted light intensity, 6 and 11, respectively, were found to have good discriminative power and were used for classification of myelin sheaths. The accuracy of automatic classification was tested by comparison with myelin sheath types of known origin. The samples visually similar by their appearance, e.g. control and regenerating myelin sheaths, were automatically classified with accuracy of 69%, whereas others were classified appropriately with 88-100% accuracy. It is believed that this kind of analysis may successfully be applied for specimens of other tissues and/or organs.

Application of the optical Fourier transform for analysis of the spatial distribution of collagen fibers in normal and osteopetrotic bone tissue.

Optical Fourier analysis was applied for evaluation of the differences between normal and pathologically changed bone tissue. Collagen fibers were used as markers of bone structure. To prove the usefulness of this technique for objective mathematical analysis of these differences the spatial spatial distribution of collagen fiber bundles was evaluated in normal and osteopetrotic bone. The variation in the spatial distribution of collagen fiber bundles in cross sections of femur diaphyses was evaluated quantitatively by optical diffraction three groups of Fatty Orl-op strain rats, i.e. phenotypically normal animals, osteopetrotic (op/op) mutants and op/op-mutants cured by transplantation of normal syngenic bone marrow. The histological sections of decalcified bone were stained with Sirus-Red and then photographed under polarizing microscope. The Sirus-Red staining was used to enhance the natural birefringency of collagen fibers. Diffractograms obtained from microphotographs of selected bone section areas, i.e. outer and inner circumferential lamellae and haversian bone of normal and cured op/op animals as well as whole cortical bone and woven bone filling the medullary cavities in op/op mutants were analysed separately. Diffractograms contain summarized information on the size and relative position of these structures in histological sections. The radial and angular distribution of light energy were evaluated for each diffractogram with an electronic detector. The obtained distributions were described by several sets of parameters concerning the position, level and shape of local maxima and minima. Out of these parameters five with the highest discriminant power were chosen for further mathematical analysis. This analysis was based on the calculation of the position of centroids in the multidimensional space described by the linear functions of the chosen parameters for each of the evaluated bone section areas. The centroids (mean values of discriminant scores of each group) represent the centers of gravity of the analysed groups, while the separation of the centroids tested by the F-test illustrates the differences between the respective groups of selected bone section areas. A high level of separation of centroids was found when osteopetreotic bone was compared with normal one, what means that the spatial distribution, size and interstructural distances between the collagen fiber bundles in bone tissue in these two groups of animals differ markedly. A similar situation was observed when osteopetrotic bone was compared with bone tissue obtained from op/op mutants cured by transplantation of normal syngenic bone marrow. On the other hand, the level of separation of centroids was low when bone tissue of cured op/op mutants was compared with the control one, a finding which corresponds to the less pronounced histological differences between these two groups of animals. Computer-aided classification on single microphotographs of selected bone section areas to the known a priori type of bone tissue was performed...

Polarizing microscopy of Picrosirius stained bone sections as a method for analysis of spatial distribution of collagen fibers by optical diffractometry.

Cross sections of femur diaphysis obtained from control and osteopetrotic rats were stained with hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and Picrosirius (SR). Analogous selected areas of bone sections photographed under a polarizing microscope were analysed by optical diffractometry. Since the collagen fibers are a good marker for the structure of bone tissue, their spatial distribution evaluated by optical diffractometry provides information on the tissue architecture. The Picrosirius staining technique enhances the natural birefringency of collagen fibers. Therefore, in the polarizing microscope, pictures of high contrast are obtained. This procedure, by increasing the amount of information in the image, increases the quantity of the data obtained by optical diffractometry in comparison with the HE staining method. The results obtained prove that SR staining combined with polarizing microscopy might be useful for optical diffractometry in analysis of the spatial distribution of collagen fibers in all connective tissues, where they could serve as markers of tissue architecture.