Cells Tissues Organs最新文献

{"title":"Functional role of TGF-ß2/3 and FGF2 cross-talk in palate development.","authors":"Nichika Fukumashi, Mina Aoki, Miwaki Aoki, Risako Okuma, Yasuhiro Namura, Charles F Shuler, Akira Nakajima","doi":"10.1159/cto/acbag009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/cto/acbag009","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>The cross-talk between transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β)2/3 and fibroblast growth factor (FGF)2 during secondary palatal fusion is not fully understood. This study aimed to elucidate the details of cross-talk signaling of TGF-β2/3 and FGF2 during secondary palatal fusion using the small interfering RNA (siRNA) technique.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Secondary palates of embryonic day 13 ICR mice were harvested, and the palates were cultured in the medium containing control siRNA, siTGF-β2, siTGF-β3, and siFGF2 (single or double knockdown). The expression levels of TGF-β2, TGF-β3, FGF2, and downstream genes were observed by western blotting and real-time RT-PCR.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Transfection of siRNA targeting the target gene resulted in a statistically significant decrease in expression levels. When the expression of either TGF-β3 or FGF2 was suppressed, a tendency for the expression of the other to increase was observed. Although Smad2 phosphorylation was not affected by siFGF2 transfection, siFGF2 treatment reduced MAPK phosphorylation levels of ERK, p38, and JNK. Following siFGF2 treatment, TGF-β3 expression increased, and suppression of its expression by siTGF-β3 also significantly increased FGF2 expression levels. At E13 + 72 h of culture, the siFGF2 treatment resulted in incomplete palatal fusion. In the TGF-β2/FGF2 and TGF-β3/FGF2 double knockdown groups at the stage, fusion defects were observed, particularly in the anterior region of the secondary palate. In the double knockdown of TGF-β/FGF2, the downstream gene expressions were also reduced.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The results suggests that the TGF-β3 and FGF2 genes interact as a result of crosstalk, complement each other, and influence signal transduction to downstream genes.</p>","PeriodicalId":9717,"journal":{"name":"Cells Tissues Organs","volume":" ","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149179701","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Microparticle Hydrogels for Nervous System Repair.","authors":"Md Tahmid Hasan, Md Wasif Hasan, Andrew N Stewart, Jonathan M Zuidema","doi":"10.1159/cto/acbag008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/cto/acbag008","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Microparticle hydrogels, or microgels, have emerged as promising therapeutics for nervous system repair because of their many beneficial properties. These properties include porosity, which leads to nutrient and waste exchange, large surface area to volume ratio compared to bulk biomaterials for cellular attachment and growth, and tailorable drug release to act as drug delivery depots. The potential of microgels as therapeutics in the nervous system is demonstrated by the key research being conducted in the field of nervous system repair.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>In this review, we discuss nervous system injuries and diseases that could benefit clinically from microgel therapeutics. Models of the in vitro nervous system that incorporate microgels are described, and in vivo models of nervous system injury or disease that use microgels as therapeutics are presented.</p><p><strong>Key messages: </strong>The studies reported here show the promise of microgels in developing in vitro models to study the nervous system and their use as therapeutics in nervous system repair. Microgels have been shown to improve outcomes in many different animal models of nervous system injury or disease. These findings demonstrate the potential of microgels in nervous system repair and provide the rationale to continue to study and develop microgels to improve outcomes in the nervous system.</p>","PeriodicalId":9717,"journal":{"name":"Cells Tissues Organs","volume":" ","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149126651","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Role of Macrophages in Epimorphic Tissue Regeneration.","authors":"René Fernando Abarca-Buis, David Garciadiego-Cázares","doi":"10.1159/cto/acbag007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/cto/acbag007","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Macrophages are phagocytic cells involved in a wide range of biological processes, including epimorphic regeneration. Studies using several models of epimorphosis have revealed that macrophages contribute to the proliferation and survival of dedifferentiated cells required for blastema formation. They also regulate inflammatory response, control fibrosis, and participate in the differentiation of the newly formed tissues. It is noteworthy that macrophages are highly responsive to external signals, generating several phenotypic subpopulations supporting the progression of the regeneration process. Additionally, evidence suggests that tissue-resident macrophages contribute to epimorphosis, whereas circulating monocyte-derived macrophages can acquire either regenerative or inflammatory phenotypes depending on environmental signals present in the injured structure.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>Given that recent reviews of macrophage involvement in epimorphic regeneration have focused predominantly on zebrafish, this review aims to summarize evidence from other regenerative vertebrate models in which these cells play essential roles, including salamander limb and lens regeneration, lizard tail regeneration, and rodent fingertip and ear regeneration. Additionally, we highlight the most notable mechanisms by which macrophages promote regeneration in each model and discuss the influence of the microenvironment on macrophage phenotype acquisition, as well as current understanding of the role of tissue-resident macrophages in this process.</p><p><strong>Key messages: </strong>Macrophages are key promoters of epimorphic regeneration. Evidence indicates that tissue-resident macrophages are the primary macrophage population involved in regulating several processes essential for regeneration, including re-epithelialization, blastema formation, extracellular matrix remodeling and, the regulation of inflammation through the secretion of soluble factors. Given that a large proportion of tissue-resident macrophages are establishing during embryo development, it is possible that they retain a development program that influences the regenerative microenvironment.</p>","PeriodicalId":9717,"journal":{"name":"Cells Tissues Organs","volume":" ","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149079754","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ultrastructural Changes in Human Placental Tissues and Evidence of Particulate Matter Transport into the Umbilical Vein Following PM2.5 Exposure in Chiang Rai, Thailand.","authors":"Arunothai Wanta, Keerakarn Somsuan, Panida Navasumrit, Krittinee Chaisatra, Tinnakorn Bang-Ngoen, Bumpenporn Sanannam, Kimhun Somwetee, Potchana Chen, Iyara Wongpia, Siripat Aluksanasuwan, Wariya Mongkolwat, Supakorn Rojananin, Sangkae Chamnanvanakij","doi":"10.1159/cto/acbag006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/cto/acbag006","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Air pollution poses significant risks to human health. In Thailand, PM2.5 concentrations in Chiang Rai during March and April have been reported to be the highest. This study investigated PM2.5 deposition in human placental tissue and the umbilical vein following third trimester exposure.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Twenty pregnant women from Mae Chan District, Chiang Rai Province, were recruited. Placental samples were obtained from ten women exposed to elevated PM2.5 levels between February and April and from ten women without exposure to high PM2.5 concentrations during pregnancy. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were used to evaluate tissue morphology and elemental composition. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to assess ultrastructural morphology.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Placental villi from PM2.5-exposed samples demonstrated surface flattening with a rough and irregular morphology. Metal-containing particles were observed adherent to the placental surface and within the umbilical vein. Elemental analysis detected Al, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Si, and Ti, while PM2.5 collected from air filters exhibited a comparable elemental profile, with additional trace amounts of Cl and Br. Histological and ultrastructural evaluation using transmission electron microscopy revealed abnormal syncytiotrophoblast morphology, thickening of the placental barrier, and endothelial cell abnormalities in small vessels.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>The elemental composition of suspected particulate matter in the placenta and umbilical vein was similar to that identified in the PM2.5 dust analysis. These findings provide direct evidence that PM2.5 can deposit in human placental tissue and the umbilical vein, indicating potential pathways for fetal exposure.</p>","PeriodicalId":9717,"journal":{"name":"Cells Tissues Organs","volume":" ","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149058572","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Erratum.","authors":"","doi":"10.1159/000553553","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000553553","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In the article \"Angiotensin II/Angiotensin II Receptor Blockade Affects Osteoporosis via the AT1/AT2-Mediated cAMP-Dependent PKA Pathway\" [Cells Tissues Organs. 2017;204(1):25-37; https://doi.org/10.1159/000464461] by Yi Zhou et al., the authors noted there was an error in Figure 4c.Fig. 4.c Osteoclastic activity was estimated by TRAP staining. After completing osteoclast induction in the cell plate, cells were gently washed and fixed in 4% formaldehyde at room temperature for 30 s, followed by the TRAP staining procedure.An error in image naming and processing resulted in an incorrect image being placed in the fourth experimental group (AngII+ ARB1- ARB2+ group). The authors have verified the corrected image by checking laboratory records and timestamp of raw pictures. Due to the errors in labelling the first two images of each group, the authors have also replaced the blank control (AngII-; ARB1-; ARB2-) in Figure 4c.Detailed Protocol for TRAP StainingAlthough Figure 4c may visually suggest heterogeneity in staining among the groups, quantitative cell counting confirmed that the trends across groups were consistent and supported the conclusions of the article. The apparent visual differences are likely attributable to insufficient staining. The authors have outlined the contours of insufficiently stained cells with yellow dashed lines for clarity. Sample preparation was performed as follows: after completing osteoclast induction in the cell plate, the culture medium was discarded. The cell layer was gently washed with pre-warmed (37°C) PBS to prevent cell detachment. Cells were then fixed in 4% formaldehyde at room temperature for 30 s, followed by the TRAP staining procedure. Under light microscopy, TRAP-positive cells containing three or more nuclei were defined as multinucleated cells (MNCs).The corrected Figure 4c is shown here.</p>","PeriodicalId":9717,"journal":{"name":"Cells Tissues Organs","volume":" ","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149015642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Axolotl-Derived Skin Technologies for Cranial Wounds: Translational Potentials and Alternative Biomaterials.","authors":"Clayton Rawson, Hunter Hutchinson, Maya Haghighi, Tristen Melvin, Brandon Lucke-Wold, Michael Karsy, Mehrdad Pahlevani","doi":"10.1159/cto/acbag005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/cto/acbag005","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Current surgical strategies for cranial wound repair rely on traditional models of tissue healing, fibroblast recruitment, collagen deposition, and inflammatory signaling, but incompletely leverage the mechanisms that determine whether a wound regenerates or fails. Failure in the cranial soft-tissue compartment is driven by fibrosis and impaired vascular integration, particularly following trauma, tumor resection, or radiation, where large incisions, limited vascular supply, and high mechanical tension predispose to dehiscence. This narrative review examines axolotl-inspired regenerative mechanisms and their translational potential for cranial soft-tissue repair. Unlike prior syntheses centered on amphibian limb and appendage regeneration, it focuses on axolotl skin biology as a template for cranial soft-tissue reconstruction, positions axolotl-derived and axolotl-inspired strategies within a defined biomaterials framework, and applies an explicit evidence hierarchy distinguishing mechanisms demonstrated in the axolotl from those validated in mammalian wound models and those that remain hypothetical for cranial wounds. The axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum), a neotenic salamander that regenerates full-thickness skin without scarring, is a uniquely informative model for dissecting the inflammatory and extracellular-matrix programs that separate regeneration from fibrosis. Its skin regeneration is characterized by attenuated neutrophilic inflammation, reduced myofibroblast activation, delayed and compositionally altered provisional matrix deposition (low fibronectin, high tenascin-C), and pro-survival phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K-Akt) signaling. Comparative analyses indicate that controlled inflammatory amplitude and timing, effective resolution, macrophage-dependent pro-regenerative signaling, and altered matrix composition, rather than acceleration or generalized suppression of conventional inflammation-driven repair, underlie scarless outcomes. We argue that the translational value of axolotl biology lies along two complementary axes, extracellular-matrix-based scaffolds and biomimetic constructs, and molecular or biologic modulation of inflammation-matrix coupling (for example, tenascin-C delivery, TGF-β/Smad and PI3K-Akt modulation, and neutrophil- or macrophage-directed agents), rather than direct xenografting. Although translation remains preclinical, biomimetic strategies targeting inflammation-matrix interactions may improve reconstructive outcomes in complex neurosurgical wound environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":9717,"journal":{"name":"Cells Tissues Organs","volume":" ","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148954930","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A descriptive study of early eyelid morphogenesis in a large-scale human embryo collection.","authors":"Masanori Kumakiri, Motoki Katsube, Natsuko Utsunomiya, Naoki Morimoto, Shigehito Yamada","doi":"10.1159/cto/acbag004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/cto/acbag004","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Human eyelid development begins during the embryonic period. Although the general outline of early eyelid development has been described, many structures and developmental phenomena remain insufficiently investigated or controversial mainly due to the scarcity of human fetal specimens. The purpose of this study is to clarify these unresolved issues and to determine the precise developmental timing of each eyelid structure.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Fifty-six embryos (Carnegie stage (CS) 18-23) and six fetuses (early 9th week of development) from the Kyoto Collection were included in this study. The anatomical structures of the eyelid were observed using serial histological sections and external photographs, and the findings were described according to each developmental stage.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The medial and lateral canthi formed between CS19 and 21. Mesenchymal condensations corresponding to the prospective upper and lower eyelid retractor regions were first observed at CS18 and acquired a sheet-like configuration by the 9th week of development. Mesenchymal condensation at the future location of the medial palpebral ligament was first observed at CS20. The orbicularis oculi muscle primordium emerged at the 9th week. Eyelid fusion initiated on the nasal side at CS22. It then progressed from both the nasal and temporal sides towards the center, until completion at the 9th week. The lacrimal canaliculi first appeared at CS19.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Using the rich specimens of the Kyoto collection, we newly identified the developmental timing of the prospective lower eyelid retractor complex and medial palpebral ligament regions, as well as the initiation of eyelid fusion on the nasal side. Furthermore, we established a detailed timeline of early human eyelid morphogenesis. Our findings may guide future research on human eyelid development, anatomy, and the mechanisms underlying congenital eyelid disorders.</p>","PeriodicalId":9717,"journal":{"name":"Cells Tissues Organs","volume":" ","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148863602","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pterygopalatine Ganglion Cell Death as an Underrecognized Mechanism in Dry Eye Syndrome: A Hypothesis with Special Attention to Diabetic Etiology.","authors":"Mugurel Constantin Rusu, Diana Alexandra Banica, Alexandra Diana Vrapciu","doi":"10.1159/cto/acbag003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1159/cto/acbag003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>To propose that progressive neuronal and satellite glial cell death within the pterygopalatine ganglion (PPG) is an underrecognized upstream mechanism in chronic aqueous-deficient dry eye, with particular relevance to diabetes mellitus, and to examine whether this ganglionic lesion also unifies broader secretory and cerebrovascular abnormalities into a single \"diabetic secretory denervation syndrome\".</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A narrative, hypothesis-driven synthesis was performed across ocular surface disease, autonomic neuroscience, diabetic neuropathy, regulated cell death, surgical denervation models, and cerebrovascular physiology. PubMed was searched using both \"pterygopalatine ganglion\" and \"sphenopalatine ganglion\" as synonyms, combined with terms for cell death, diabetes, vidian neurectomy, and cerebrovascular function. Reference lists were hand-searched.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The PPG is the sole parasympathetic relay for lacrimal, nasal, palatal, and conjunctival secretion, and a major source of vasodilator drive to the anterior cerebral circulation. Surgical interruption of this pathway reliably causes aqueous-deficient dry eye. In streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats, nitrergic PPG neurons undergo TUNEL-confirmed apoptosis during an irreversible second phase of diabetic nitrergic neuropathy, driven by the synergistic action of advanced glycation end products and endogenous nitric oxide through a caspase-3-dependent mechanism. Additional cell-death modalities (necroptosis, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, and satellite glial cell apoptosis) are predicted by analogy with other autonomic ganglia under equivalent metabolic stress. Its degeneration is therefore predicted to cause coordinated multi-territory secretory failure rather than isolated dry eye.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>PPG neurodegeneration has been directly demonstrated in the diabetic rodent ganglion and mechanistically anchored in AGE-RAGE (advanced glycation end products and their receptor, RAGE)-mediated apoptosis. Extending this experimentally grounded finding, we hypothesise that these deficits (diabetic dry eye, impaired nasal mucociliary clearance, palatine xerostomia, goblet cell depletion, and reduced cerebral perfusion) may share a common upstream ganglionic lesion, a unifying proposal that remains to be tested directly. The hypothesis generates testable predictions and reframes therapy toward neuroprotection of the PPG.</p>","PeriodicalId":9717,"journal":{"name":"Cells Tissues Organs","volume":" ","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148850019","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Anterior Subcutaneous White Adipose Tissue Has Greater Beiging Potential than the Inguinal White Adipose Tissue in Mice.","authors":"Jingwen Cai, Xinzhi Zhang, Lingyu Sun, Bin Li, Ming Tian, Haifang Li","doi":"10.1159/cto/acbag002","DOIUrl":"10.1159/cto/acbag002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>White adipose tissue (WAT) beiging plays an important role in energy expenditure and metabolic health. However, WAT depots exhibit substantial functional heterogeneity across anatomical locations. This study aims to compare the beiging potential of anterior subcutaneous WAT (asWAT) and inguinal subcutaneous WAT (iWAT) in mice under thermoneutral and cold exposure conditions at 25°C and 4°C, respectively.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A multi-method approach was used, including histomorphological analysis, transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq), real-time quantitative PCR, Western blotting, immunofluorescence staining, and mitochondrial DNA copy number quantification.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Compared with iWAT, asWAT exhibited a more pronounced beige-like phenotype under both thermoneutral and cold exposure conditions, as evidenced by smaller adipocytes, higher expression of thermogenic genes, and increased mitochondrial abundance and activity. Transcriptomic analysis further revealed significant enrichment and upregulation of thermogenesis and oxidative phosphorylation pathways in asWAT.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The findings indicate that asWAT has a greater beiging capacity than iWAT, which is associated with a more active thermogenic transcriptional program and enhanced mitochondrial remodeling. The study demonstrates functional heterogeneity between subcutaneous adipose depots and identifies asWAT as a depot with greater thermogenic potential than iWAT. The findings provide new insights into depot-specific strategies for promoting WAT beiging and improving metabolic health.</p>","PeriodicalId":9717,"journal":{"name":"Cells Tissues Organs","volume":" ","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148788654","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An AI-Assisted Protocol for Quantifying Superficial Chorioallantoic Membrane Vasculature.","authors":"Yile Huang, Nicolai Frost Kolborg Jacobsen, Stefanie Kuerten, Ruijin Huang, Qin Pu","doi":"10.1159/000553187","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000553187","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>The chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) is a widely used in vivo model for studying angiogenesis and tumor growth in accordance with the 3R principles. However, its multilayered vascular organization complicates quantitative analysis because overlapping superficial and deeper vascular compartments are difficult to distinguish in conventional two-dimensional imaging. Although artificial intelligence (AI)-based methods improve vascular quantification, many existing workflows require extensive preprocessing or user-side model training.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We established an AI-assisted protocol that restricts vascular quantification to the superficial CAM capillary plexus, the vascular compartment most responsive to angiogenic and anti-angiogenic stimuli. Functional separation of this layer was achieved by intra-CAM injection of commercially available bovine whipped cream (minimum 30% fat), creating a diffuse white background that optically masks deeper vessels without altering vascular morphology. A U-Net-based model trained on manually annotated vessel masks was used for automated two-dimensional quantification of vessel area, length, branching points, and thickness.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The segmentation model achieved a Dice similarity coefficient of 0.831. Application at embryonic days 11 and 15 revealed remodeling of the superficial CAM vasculature, including increased branching and changes in perfusion area. The workflow reduced preprocessing complexity and enabled standardized analysis using a pretrained segmentation model.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This method combines experimental layer isolation with automated vessel segmentation to enable two-dimensional quantification of superficial CAM vasculature without requiring custom model training. It supports practical and reproducible CAM angiogenesis studies by providing a standardized analysis workflow.</p>","PeriodicalId":9717,"journal":{"name":"Cells Tissues Organs","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13623339/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148711367","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}