Quantification of structural changes in acute inflammation by fractal dimension,angular second moment and correlation

The aim of the study was to examine alteration and possible application of fractal dimension, angular second moment, and correlation for quantification of structural changes in acutely inflamed tissue. Acute inflammation was induced by injection of turpentine oil into the right and left hind limb muscles of mice, whereas control animals received intramuscular saline injection. After 12 h, animals were anesthetised and treated muscles collected. The tissue was stained by hematoxylin and eosin, digital micrographs produced, enabling determination of fractal dimension of the cells, angular second moment and correlation of studied tissue. Histopathological analysis showed presence of inflammatory infiltrate and tissue damage in inflammatory group, whereas tissue structure in control group was preserved, devoid of inflammatory infiltrate. Fractal dimension of the cells, angular second moment and correlation of treated tissue in inflammatory group decreased in comparison to the control group. In this study, we were first to observe and report that fractal dimension of the cells, angular second moment, and correlation were reduced in acutely inflamed tissue, indicating loss of overall complexity of the cells in the tissue, the tissue uniformity and structure regularity. Fractal dimension, angular second moment and correlation could be useful methods for quantification of structural changes in acute inflammation.     

Iron oxide nanoparticles decrease nuclear fractal dimension of buccal epithelial cells in a time‐dependent manner

In this paper, we present results that iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) induce time‐dependent structural changes in nuclei of buccal epithelial cells. The cells were treated with magnetite, Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (spherical shape, diameter 80–100 nanometres). The digital micrographs of the nuclei were made in 3 different time points: 15, 30 and 60 min after the treatment with IONPs, as well as in the control cells. A total of 120 nuclear structures (30 per sample) were analysed. Fractal analysis of nuclei was done in ImageJ software of the National Institutes of Health, (Bethesda, MD, USA). For each nuclear structure, the values of fractal dimension and lacunarity were calculated. There was a time‐dependent reduction of nuclear fractal dimension in buccal epithelial cells after exposure to magnetite iron oxide nanoparticles. Negative trend was observed (p < 0.01). Nuclear lacunarity, as another fractal parameter was shown to increase, also in a time‐dependent manner, after the treatment with IONPs. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate effects of magnetite nanomaterial on nuclear fractal complexity, and also the first to apply fractal analysis method in testing of the interaction between nanoparticles and cell nucleus in this experimental setting.     

Time‐dependent reduction of structural complexity of the buccal epithelial cell nuclei after treatment with silver nanoparticles

Recent studies have suggested that silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) may affect cell DNA structure in in vitro conditions. In this paper, we present the results indicating that AgNPs change nuclear complexity properties in isolated human epithelial buccal cells in a time‐dependent manner. Epithelial buccal cells were plated in special tissue culture chamber / slides and were kept at 37°C in an RPMI 1640 cell culture medium supplemented with L‐glutamine. The cells were treated with colloidal silver nanoparticles suspended in RPMI 1640 medium at the concentration 15 mg L^?1. Digital micrographs of the cell nuclei in a sample of 30 cells were created at five different time steps: before the treatment (controls), immediately after the treatment, as well as 15 , 30 and 60 min after the treatment with AgNPs. For each nuclear structure, values of fractal dimension, lacunarity, circularity, as well as parameters of grey level co‐occurrence matrix (GLCM) texture, were determined. The results indicate time‐dependent reduction of structural complexity in the cell nuclei after the contact with AgNPs. These findings further suggest that AgNPs, at concentrations present in today's over‐the‐counter drug products, might have significant effects on the cell genetic material.