Microvascular research最新文献

{"title":"The role of the cyclooxygenase-2 pathway in tissue ischemia and revascularization following skeletal muscle injury induced by bothropic snake venom","authors":"Melissa Rodrigues Correia ,&nbsp;Sang Won Han ,&nbsp;Teresa Escalante ,&nbsp;Vanessa Moreira","doi":"10.1016/j.mvr.2024.104760","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.mvr.2024.104760","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Bothrops asper</em> venom (Bav) contains metalloproteinases that disrupt the microvascular system, impairing muscle tissue regeneration after injury. This study investigated the impact of the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) pathway on vascular injury and revascularization in muscle injuries induced by Bav. Mice were injected with Bav into the gastrocnemius muscle and treated with lumiracoxib, a selective COX-2 inhibitor, 30 min, 2 days, and 6 days post-Bav injection. Muscle tissue was analyzed at 24 h, 7 days, and 21 days post-injection. A decrease in COX-2 expression at 24 h post-Bav injection indicated significant necrosis and tissue loss. Both Bav injection and lumiracoxib treatment influenced the decrease of prostaglandin (PG)D₂ and PGE₂ production. Seven and 21 days post-Bav injections, COX-2 expression increased, along with PGDs levels unaffected by lumiracoxib, indicating that the other isoform COX-1 pathway could contribute to the release of PGs. Bav/lumiracoxib treated animals presented exacerbated limb ischemia, implying that COX-2-derived prostaglandins preserve vessel integrity. CD31, an angiogenesis marker, initially (24 h) decreased post-Bav injection but increased at 7 and 21 days in Bav/lumiracoxib mice, suggesting a down-modulatory role for COX-2-derived prostaglandins in early angiogenesis and tissue regeneration. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) production rose 7 days post-Bav injection, supporting its role in angiogenesis. Previous treatment with lumiracoxib promoted release of VEGF levels 21 days post-Bav injury showing that the inhibition of COX-2 pathway in the early stage of revascularization stimulates the neovascularization regulated by elevated release of VEGF. Similarly, metalloproteinases (MMPs), such as MMP-9, MMP-10, and MMP-13, crucial for vascular remodeling, were elevated 21 days after Bav/lumiracoxib treatment. In conclusion, the COX-2 pathway is essential to decrease the high grade of ischemia caused by acute injury induced by Bav. However, the decrease of activity in the COX-2 pathway in the first stages of revascularization contributes to the elevated production of key pro-angiogenic mediators that up-regulate the restoration of microvasculature and blood flow in muscle tissue injured by botropic venoms.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18534,"journal":{"name":"Microvascular research","volume":"157 ","pages":"Article 104760"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142603304","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a circulating steroid hormone precursor produced potent vasorelaxation in rat aorta and mesenteric arteries through blockade of L-type voltage-dependent calcium channels","authors":"Divya Mishra ,&nbsp;Pankaj Yadav ,&nbsp;Hina Iqbal ,&nbsp;Shweta Parashar ,&nbsp;Arvind Singh Negi ,&nbsp;Debabrata Chanda","doi":"10.1016/j.mvr.2024.104758","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.mvr.2024.104758","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is known for potent cardioprotective properties and diminished DHEA level in plasma is often associated with hypertension and age-related anomalies. However, putative <em>ex-vivo</em> vasorelaxation potential of DHEA in systemic resistance vessels like mesenteric arteries and conduit arteries like aorta are still to be worked out. The study aimed to explore vasorelaxation potential of DHEA in superior and resistance mesenteric arteries and aorta in rats and to determine the contribution L-type Voltage dependent calcium channel (L-VDCC) in the relaxation response in these arterial tissues. <em>Ex-vivo</em> vasorelaxation potential of DHEA in isolated arterial tissues were evaluated and the mechanism of vasorelaxation induced by DHEA was characterized by contraction experiment in isolated arterial tissue and <em>in-vitro</em> calcium imaging assay using Fluo-4 in primary vascular smooth muscle cells derived from aorta. In the current study, DHEA was found to exhibit potent concentration dependent, endothelium and potassium channel independent vasorelaxation response in conduit and resistance arteries. The block of L-type VDCCs was evident from the findings that DHEA in a concentration-dependent manner inhibited both BAY K-8644 and CaCl₂-induced contractions. The results of the contraction experiment were further substantiated by Fluo-4 mediated calcium imaging assay in primary rat vascular smooth muscle wherein DHEA concentration dependently blocked noradrenaline and BAY K-8644-induced rise in intracellular calcium fluorescence. The present study showed potent endothelium and potassium channel independent vasorelaxation properties of DHEA in aorta, superior and resistance mesenteric artery mediated predominantly through blockade of L-VDCC.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18534,"journal":{"name":"Microvascular research","volume":"157 ","pages":"Article 104758"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142591172","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Morphometrics of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy lesions and choroidal vascular associated with treatment response using swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography","authors":"Yue Zhang ,&nbsp;Jianing Wang ,&nbsp;Zhaoxia Zheng ,&nbsp;Shuang Song ,&nbsp;Xiaoya Gu ,&nbsp;Xiaobing Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.mvr.2024.104759","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.mvr.2024.104759","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Purpose</h3><div>To evaluate quantitative metrics of neovascularization lesions and choroidal vascular using swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCTA) in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) eyes, and investigate the relationship between imaging biomarkers and treatment outcomes of intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We retrospectively recruited 56 PCV patients. Choroidal features included subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) and choroidal vascularity index (CVI). Quantitative metrics of neovascularization lesions included total vessel length (TVL), average vessel length (AVL), junction density (JD), total number of endpoints (TNE), and mean lacunarity (ML). We performed multivariate logistic and linear regression models to determine the prognostic factors for functional and morphological outcomes.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>By comparison, functional good-responders had poorer best corrected visual acuity, higher TNE, and lower ML at baseline. Morphological good-responders had higher central retinal thickness, higher TNE, lower TVL and AVL, lower ML, lower SFCT and CVI. High-shrinkage of vessel area subgroup had higher JD and TNE, lower TVL and AVL, lower ML, lower SFCT and CVI. Multivariate analysis showed good morphological response was correlated with lower SFCT (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.01). High-shrinkage subgroup was correlated with lower AVL (<em>P</em> = 0.017) and higher TNE (P &lt; 0.01).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Quantitative metrics of neovascularization lesions and choroidal characteristics using SS-OCTA had the potential to be imaging biomarkers for predicting the response to anti-VEGF treatment. PCV lesions with higher TNE and lower AVL tended to appear higher shrinkage of vessel area, and lower SFCT was correlated with good morphological response.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18534,"journal":{"name":"Microvascular research","volume":"157 ","pages":"Article 104759"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142591177","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Characterization of microcirculatory endothelial functions in a D-Galactose-induced aging model","authors":"Zhuo Li,&nbsp;Yuhong He,&nbsp;Qiuju Zhang,&nbsp;Bingwei Li,&nbsp;Ruijuan Xiu,&nbsp;Honggang Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.mvr.2024.104757","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.mvr.2024.104757","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Microcirculation health is critical to human health, and aging is an important factor affecting microcirculation health. Although D-Galactose has been widely used in aging research models, there is a lack of relevant studies on D-Galactose simulating microcirculatory aging. Here, we explored microcirculatory endothelial function in D-Galactose-induced aging mice.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Intraperitoneal injection of 150 mg/(kg·d) of D-Galactose was given to cause senescence in mice. Aging was evaluated by SA-β-gal (senescence-associated β-galactosidase) staining. The auricular skin and hepatic microcirculation of mice were observed and detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), immunohistochemistry (IHC) and microcirculation apparatus. The aging of microcirculation was analyzed from oxidative stress, endothelial impairment, inflammation, microvascular morphology and hemodynamics.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>In aging mice, percentage of SA-β-gal positive area, oxidative stress products reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO), endothelial impairment marker syndecan-1 (SDC-1), stromal cell derived factor-1 (SDF-1), intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) in the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) were all up-regulated. The tortuosity of microvessels increased in aging mice, the linear density did not change significantly, but the total length of narrow microvessels (TLNMV) increased and wide microvessels (TLWMV) decreased, speculate that vasomotor dysfunction may be present. Hemodynamically, both perfusion and velocity of blood flow were reduced in senescent mice, presumably due to endothelial dysfunction.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Microcirculatory endothelial dysfunction is induced by D-Galactose, leading to microcirculatory aging. In vivo, this is manifested by elevated levels of oxidative stress, impaired endothelial glycocalyx (eGC), and a greater production of chemokines and adhesive molecules. These changes cause vasomotor dysfunction and remodeling, ultimately leading to hemodynamic impairment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18534,"journal":{"name":"Microvascular research","volume":"157 ","pages":"Article 104757"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142560798","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Repeated treatment with VEGF receptor inhibitors induces phenotypic changes in endothelial cells and pericytes in the rat retina","authors":"Ayuki Nakano,&nbsp;Takaaki Kawada,&nbsp;Akane Morita,&nbsp;Tsutomu Nakahara","doi":"10.1016/j.mvr.2024.104756","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.mvr.2024.104756","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Abnormal ocular angiogenesis is a major cause of visual impairment and vision loss in neovascularization-related diseases. Currently, anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) drugs are used to treat ocular neovascularization, but repeated injections are needed to maintain their therapeutic effects. However, repeated injection of anti-VEGF drugs may affect the retinal blood vessel phenotype and diminish therapeutic effects. In this study, we aimed to investigate the phenotypic changes in endothelial cells and pericytes caused by the repeated interruption of the VEGF receptor signaling pathway in neonatal rats. KRN633 (10 mg/kg), a VEGF receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, was subcutaneously administered on postnatal day (P)-7 and P8 (first round), P14 and P15 (second round), and P21 and P22 (third round). The rat eyes were collected on P7, P9, P14, P16, P21, P23, P28, and P35. Using retinal flat-mount specimens stained with specific markers for vascular endothelial cells, basement membranes, and pericytes, the arteriolar tortuosity, capillary area density, and distribution of pericytes were evaluated. Significant loss of capillaries was observed the day after the first round of KRN633 treatment, after which aggressive angiogenesis occurred, leading to the formation of tortuous arterioles. Rats that completed second and third rounds of KRN633 treatment showed more severe abnormalities in the retinal vasculature than those that only completed first round treatment. Repeated treatment with KRN633 decreased the anti-angiogenic effects but increased the immunoreactivity of α-smooth muscle actin in the pericytes on veins and capillaries. α-Smooth muscle actin expression was inversely correlated to anti-angiogenic effects. Overall, these results revealed that repeated interruption of VEGF receptor signaling pathway altered the phenotypes of endothelial cells and pericytes and induced anti-VEGF drug resistance. Therefore, careful follow-up is necessary when using anti-VEGF drugs to treat abnormal angiogenesis-associated ocular diseases.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18534,"journal":{"name":"Microvascular research","volume":"157 ","pages":"Article 104756"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142503755","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Innate lymphoid cells in the brain: Focus on ischemic stroke","authors":"Khiany Mathias ,&nbsp;Richard Simon Machado ,&nbsp;Taise Cardoso ,&nbsp;Anita dal Bó Tiscoski ,&nbsp;Amanda Christine da Silva Kursancew ,&nbsp;Josiane Somariva Prophiro ,&nbsp;Jaqueline Generoso ,&nbsp;Fabricia Petronilho","doi":"10.1016/j.mvr.2024.104755","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.mvr.2024.104755","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The innate immune system consists of a diverse set of immune cells, including innate lymphoid cells (ILCs), which are grouped into subsets based on their transcription factors and cytokine profiles. Among these are natural killer (NK) cells, group 1 ILCs, group 2 ILCs, group 3 ILCs, and lymphoid tissue inducers (LTi). Unlike T and B cells, ILCs do not express the diverse antigen receptors typically found on those cells. Although ILCs function in various systems, further research is needed to understand their role in the brain and their involvement in neurological diseases such as stroke. This review explores the general immunological aspects of ILCs, with a particular focus on their role in the central nervous system and the pathophysiology of ischemic stroke.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18534,"journal":{"name":"Microvascular research","volume":"157 ","pages":"Article 104755"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142469745","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Aortic aneurysm: Correlations with phenotypes associated with connective tissue dysplasia","authors":"Maria Roslik ,&nbsp;Yury Zharikov ,&nbsp;Andzhela Vovkogon ,&nbsp;Nataliya Zharova ,&nbsp;André Pontes-Silva ,&nbsp;Tatiana Zharikova","doi":"10.1016/j.mvr.2024.104754","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.mvr.2024.104754","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>An aortic aneurysm is a localized enlargement that exceeds the normal diameter of the vessel by 50 %, posing a risk due to the likelihood of rupture. The cause of aortic aneurysm, especially in young people, is connective tissue dysplasia, a condition characterized by defects in the assembly of collagen and elastin proteins, leading to changes in elastic properties and disruption of the formation of organs and their systems. The article presents data confirming the relationship between many morphological manifestations of connective tissue dysplasia (e.g., funnel-shaped deformation of the sternum, scoliosis of the thoracic spine, abdominal hernias, arterial tortuosity, striae of atypical localization) and the risk of aortic aneurysm formation. The literature suggests that the identified combinations of some external manifestations of connective tissue dysplasia deserve special attention and may be constitutional markers for the possible development of aortic aneurysm, which is a promising direction for further research in this area.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18534,"journal":{"name":"Microvascular research","volume":"157 ","pages":"Article 104754"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142445350","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Analysis of nailfold capillaroscopy images with artificial intelligence: Data from literature and performance of machine learning and deep learning from images acquired in the SCLEROCAP study","authors":"Lutfi Ozturk ,&nbsp;Charlotte Laclau ,&nbsp;Carine Boulon ,&nbsp;Marion Mangin ,&nbsp;Etheve Braz-ma ,&nbsp;Joel Constans ,&nbsp;Loubna Dari ,&nbsp;Claire Le Hello","doi":"10.1016/j.mvr.2024.104753","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.mvr.2024.104753","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>To evaluate the performance of machine learning and then deep learning to detect a systemic scleroderma (SSc) landscape from the same set of nailfold capillaroscopy (NC) images from the French prospective multicenter observational study SCLEROCAP.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>NC images from the first 100 SCLEROCAP patients were analyzed to assess the performance of machine learning and then deep learning in identifying the SSc landscape, the NC images having previously been independently and consensually labeled by expert clinicians. Images were divided into a training set (70 %) and a validation set (30 %). After features extraction from the NC images, we tested six classifiers (random forests (RF), support vector machine (SVM), logistic regression (LR), light gradient boosting (LGB), extreme gradient boosting (XGB), K-nearest neighbors (KNN)) on the training set with five different combinations of the images. The performance of each classifier was evaluated by the F1 score. In the deep learning section, we tested three pre-trained models from the TIMM library (ResNet-18, DenseNet-121 and VGG-16) on raw NC images after applying image augmentation methods.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>With machine learning, performance ranged from 0.60 to 0.73 for each variable, with Hu and Haralick moments being the most discriminating. Performance was highest with the RF, LGB and XGB models (F1 scores: 0.75–0.79). The highest score was obtained by combining all variables and using the LGB model (F1 score: 0.79 ± 0.05, <em>p</em> &lt; 0.01). With deep learning, performance reached a minimum accuracy of 0.87. The best results were obtained with the DenseNet-121 model (accuracy 0.94 ± 0.02, F1 score 0.94 ± 0.02, AUC 0.95 ± 0.03) as compared to ResNet-18 (accuracy 0.87 ± 0.04, F1 score 0.85 ± 0.03, AUC 0.87 ± 0.04) and VGG-16 (accuracy 0.90 ± 0.03, F1 score 0.91 ± 0.02, AUC 0.91 ± 0.04).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>By using machine learning and then deep learning on the same set of labeled NC images from the SCLEROCAP study, the highest performances to detect SSc landscape were obtained with deep learning and in particular DenseNet-121. This pre-trained model could therefore be used to automatically interpret NC images in case of suspected SSc. This result nevertheless needs to be confirmed on a larger number of NC images.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18534,"journal":{"name":"Microvascular research","volume":"157 ","pages":"Article 104753"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142400709","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Short communications: Endothelin-1 in cardiac allograft vasculopathy","authors":"George R. Abraham ,&nbsp;Anthony P. Davenport ,&nbsp;Stephen P. Hoole","doi":"10.1016/j.mvr.2024.104751","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.mvr.2024.104751","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is a leading cause of death following heart transplant. Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is a highly potent vasoconstrictor peptide derived from the vascular endothelium with multiple biological actions known to be relevant for CAV. We assessed the trans-myocardial gradient (TMG: coronary sinus minus coronary artery concentration: negative = extraction, positive = secretion) of ET-1 in heart transplant patients to determine correlations with angiographic, Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS) and Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) features of CAV.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Vessels with more severe CAV demonstrated significantly higher (more positive) ET-1 TMG (IVUS Stanford Grade IV: −0.05 [−0.21, 0.13] pg/ml versus Stanford Grade I-III: −0.31 [−0.64, −0.11] pg/ml, <em>p</em> = 0.01). ET-1 TMG was positively correlated with mean intimal thickness on both IVUS and OCT (IVUS: Kendall's tau-b = 0.254, <em>p</em> = 0.02 and OCT: Kendall's tau-b = 0.344, <em>p</em> &lt; 0.0001). Patients who died had net ET-1 release compared with surviving patients (died: 0.21 [0.19–0.24] versus surviving: −0.28 [−0.52, −0.17], <em>p</em> = 0.01).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>In heart transplant patients, coronary arteries with more intimal thickening are associated with a higher (more positive) trans-myocardial gradient of ET-1, suggesting that up-regulated ET-1 release in the coronary circulation may be permissive for the development of CAV.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18534,"journal":{"name":"Microvascular research","volume":"157 ","pages":"Article 104751"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142372307","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Computer-assisted evaluation of retinal vessel tortuosity in children with sickle cell disease without retinopathy","authors":"Lina H. Raffa ,&nbsp;Enass H. Raffa ,&nbsp;Álvaro S. Hervella ,&nbsp;Lucía Ramos ,&nbsp;Jorge Novo ,&nbsp;José Rouco ,&nbsp;Marcos Ortega","doi":"10.1016/j.mvr.2024.104752","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.mvr.2024.104752","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>We assessed the predictive efficacy of automatically quantified retinal vascular tortuosity from the fundus pictures of patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) without evident retinopathy.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Retinal images were obtained from 31 healthy and 31 SCD participants using fundus imaging and analyzed using a novel computational automated metric assessment. The local and global vessel tortuosity and their relationship with systemic disease parameters were analyzed based on the images.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>SCD arteries had an increased local tortuosity index compared to the controls (0.0007 ± 0.0019 vs. 0.0006 ± 0.0014, <em>p</em> = 0.019). Furthermore, the SCD patients had wider vessel caliber mainly in the arteries (14.68 ± 5.3 vs. 14.06 ± 5.3, <em>p</em> &lt; 0.001). The SCD global tortuosity did not differ significantly from that of the controls (<em>p</em> = 0.598). The female participants had significantly reduced retinal vessel tortuosity indices compared to the male participants (<em>p</em> = 0.018).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Retinal arterial tortuosity and caliber were reliable and objective measures that could be used as a non-invasive prognostic and diagnostic indicator in sickle cell retinopathy. Further studies are required to correlate these local vascular parameters to systemic risk factors and monitor their progression and change over time.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18534,"journal":{"name":"Microvascular research","volume":"157 ","pages":"Article 104752"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142372306","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}