Graph analysis of cell clusters forming vascular networks
Graph analysis of cell clusters forming vascular networks
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DOI：
10.1098/rsos.171592
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发表时间：
2018-03-01
影响因子：
3.5
通讯作者：
Agero, U.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Alves, A. P.;Mesquita, O. N.;Agero, U.
该手稿描述了通过网络分析对鸡胚胎血管发生的实验观察。在发育 40 至 55 小时的胚胎区域中观察到血管网络的快速形成。在该区域内，内皮细胞簇快速自组织为原始且近似规则的毛细血管网络。通过明视野显微镜在对照胚胎和用贝伐单抗（Avastin）处理的胚胎中观察到这一过程，贝伐单抗是一种抑制血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）信号传导的抗体。对血管生长的图像序列进行阈值化，并用于量化对照和阿瓦斯汀处理的胚胎中的形成网络。该表征是通过测量细胞簇的血管密度数量和最大簇密度来进行的。从原始图像中，提取血管网络的拓扑结构，并通过常用的网络度量来表征，例如：度分布、平均聚类系数、平均短路径长度和相配性等。该分析可以监测血管网络最大的连接簇如何及时演变，并提供阿瓦斯汀对血管网络树结构的破坏性影响的定量证据。
This manuscript describes the experimental observation of vasculogenesis in chick embryos by means of network analysis. The formation of the vascular network was observed in the area apace of embryos from 40 to 55 h of development. In the area apace endothelial cell clusters self-organize as a primitive and approximately regular network of capillaries. The process was observed by bright-field microscopy in control,embryos and in embryos treated with Bevacizumab (Avastin), an antibody that inhibits the signalling of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The sequence of images of the vascular growth were thresholded, and used to quantify the forming network in control and Avastin-treated embryos. This characterization is made by measuring vessels density number of cell clusters and the largest cluster density. From the original images, the topology of the vascular network was extracted and characterized by means of the usual network metrics such as: the degree distribution, average clustering coefficient, average short path length and assortativity, among others. This analysis allows to monitor how the largest connected cluster of the vascular network evolves in time and provides with quantitative evidence of the disruptive effects that Avastin has on the tree structure of vascular networks.