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Mapping the Emergent Spatial Organization of Mammalian Cells using Micropatterns and Quantitative Imaging
Published on: April 30, 2019
Evaluation of methods for one-dimensional spatial analysis of two-dimensional patterns in mouse chimaeras
Benjamin A Hodson1, Mathieu Unbekandt, Margaret A Keighren
1Division of Reproductive and Developmental Sciences, Genes and Development Group, University of Edinburgh, George Square, Edinburgh, UK.
Journal of Anatomy
|May 28, 2011
Summary
Computer simulations reveal new methods to quantify cell mixing patterns in mouse chimeras. These findings help distinguish between random, clumped, and striped cell distributions in chimeric tissues.
Area of Science:
- Developmental biology
- Quantitative biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Assessing cell mixing in chimeric tissues is crucial for understanding development.
- Mean patch size is an unreliable metric due to confounding factors like cell contribution and tissue composition.
- Previous methods to correct for these factors include adjusting mean patch size or using median patch size in unbalanced chimeras.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate computational methods for distinguishing different cell mixing patterns in chimeric tissues.
- To differentiate between random, clumped, and striped arrangements of cell populations.
- To confirm simulation predictions using experimental data from mouse chimeras.
Main Methods:
- Computer simulations of 2D mosaic arrays representing different cell mixing patterns (random, clumped, striped).
- Analysis of median patch length (minority population) and corrected mean patch length.
- Evaluation of compositional variation in perpendicular transects.
- Histological analysis of retinal pigment epithelium from mouse chimeras.
Main Results:
- Simulations accurately distinguished between random and clumped patterns using median and corrected mean patch lengths.
- Simulations differentiated striped patterns from random patches by analyzing transect variations.
- Experimental data from mouse chimeras confirmed the predictive power of the simulation methods.
- Identified non-random patterns (clumps, stripes) without requiring 3D reconstruction.
Conclusions:
- Median patch length and corrected mean patch length are effective metrics for quantifying cell mixing patterns.
- Analysis of transect variations can distinguish between different types of non-random spatial arrangements.
- These computational approaches provide a robust framework for analyzing tissue variegation in chimeras.
