Extraction of protein profiles from primary neurons using active contour models and wavelets

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cell Biology
• Bioimage Analysis

Background:

• Nervous system function depends on neuronal connections and remodeling.
• Understanding molecular mechanisms requires tools to correlate neurite morphology with molecular distribution.
• Existing tools may lack the quantitative precision needed for detailed analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an automated ImageJ plugin, NeuronAnalyzer2D, for quantitative analysis of neuronal morphology and subcellular protein distribution.
• To enable correlation of neurite morphology with protein profiles in primary neurons.
• To provide a high-quality tool for biomedical research on neuronal development and function.

Main Methods:

• Developed NeuronAnalyzer2D, an ImageJ plugin for extracting neuronal morphology from 2D images.
• Utilized active contours with a novel distance-based energy for complete neuron area extraction.
• Employed a wavelet-based approach for locating neuronal structures and measuring morphological parameters.
• Applied indirect immunostaining to determine subcellular protein distribution.

Main Results:

• NeuronAnalyzer2D successfully extracts detailed neuronal morphologies and protein profiles along neurites.
• The tool quantifies various morphological parameters of neurites.
• Demonstrated ability to extract distinctive protein profiles, such as for ZBP1 (mRNA binding protein).
• Comparative evaluation showed high-quality segmentation results comparable to established tools like NeuriteTracer and Vaa3D-Neuron.

Conclusions:

• NeuronAnalyzer2D provides high-quality quantitative data for biomedical analyses.
• The plugin's ability to correlate neurite morphology with subcellular protein distribution is practically useful.
• This tool advances the study of molecular mechanisms in neuronal development and nervous system function.