Publication: An innovative methodology for the automated morphometric
and quantitative estimation of liver steatosis
Authors
Liquori, Giuseppa Esterina ; Calamita, Giuseppe ; Cascella, Davide ; Mastrodonato, Maria ; Portincasa, Piero ; Ferri, Domenico
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Publisher
Murcia : F. Hernández
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DOI
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info:eu-repo/semantics/article
Description
Abstract
The management of liver steatosis, due to its
potential evolution towards severe diseases, requires
accurate diagnosis. Fatty infiltration in liver diseases is
commonly assessed histologically by semi-quantitative
methods, which can be subjective. Automated
computerized procedures using commercial software for
image analysis have also been recently employed. The
aim of the study was to develop an innovative automated
computerized procedure to accurately evaluate both the
morphometry and degree of lipid accumulation in liver.
Fatty infiltration was assessed in paraffin- and resinembedded
samples of steatotic livers from rats
undergoing 0, 3, 7, 14, and 30-day choline-deficient diet,
and from liver biopsy of a morbidly obese patient
undergoing bariatric surgery. Specific software was
developed, which works with a morphological operator,
in addition to a chromatic one to select lipid droplets.
The choline-deficient diet induced steatosis with a
gradual shift from micro- to macro-vesicular. In paraffin
sections, the macrovesicles-to-microvesicles ratio and
the degree of steatosis, when using only the chromatic
operator, produced overestimates. Results were
consistent in both rat and human samples. An
improvement of topographic, morphometric and
quantitative estimation of fatty liver infiltration is
obtained with our software, working with a
morphological operator and using semi-thin sections
from resin-embedded samples. This innovative
procedure may be applied to human liver samples,
offering promising diagnostic and prognostic
perspectives.
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