Fractal analysis of extracellular matrix for observer-independent quantification of intestinal fibrosis in Crohn’s disease

Prevention of intestinal fibrosis remains an unresolved problem in the treatment of Crohn’s disease (CD), as specific antifibrotic therapies are not yet available. Appropriate analysis of fibrosis severity is essential for assessing the therapeutic efficacy of potential antifibrotic drugs. The aim o...

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Published in:Scientific reports 2024-02, Vol.14 (1), p.3988-11, Article 3988
Main Authors: Weber, Marie-Christin, Schmidt, Konstantin, Buck, Annalisa, Kasajima, Atsuko, Becker, Simon, Li, Chunqiao, Reischl, Stefan, Wilhelm, Dirk, Steiger, Katja, Friess, Helmut, Neumann, Philipp-Alexander
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
692/308/575
692/4020/1503/257
692/4020/1503/257/1402
Collagen
Crohn's disease
Extracellular matrix
Fibrosis
Fractal dimension analysis
Fractals
Histology
Humanities and Social Sciences
Intestinal fibrosis
Intestine
Light microscopy
Microscopy
multidisciplinary
Patients
Polarized light
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Structural analysis
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Summary:Prevention of intestinal fibrosis remains an unresolved problem in the treatment of Crohn’s disease (CD), as specific antifibrotic therapies are not yet available. Appropriate analysis of fibrosis severity is essential for assessing the therapeutic efficacy of potential antifibrotic drugs. The aim of this study was to develop an observer-independent method to quantify intestinal fibrosis in surgical specimens from patients with CD using structural analysis of the extracellular matrix (ECM). We performed fractal analysis in fibrotic and control histological sections of patients with surgery for CD (n = 28). To specifically assess the structure of the collagen matrix, polarized light microscopy was used. A score to quantify collagen fiber alignment and the color of the polarized light was established. Fractal dimension as a measure for the structural complexity correlated significantly with the histological fibrosis score whereas lacunarity as a measure for the compactness of the ECM showed a negative correlation. Polarized light microscopy to visualize the collagen network underlined the structural changes in the ECM network in advanced fibrosis. In conclusion, observer-independent quantification of the structural complexity of the ECM by fractal analysis is a suitable method to quantify the degree of intestinal fibrosis in histological samples from patients with CD.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-024-54545-4