Imaging Approaches and the Quantitative Analysis of Heart Development
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Published on: March 10, 2020
Morena Raiola1,2, Miquel Sendra1, Miguel Torres1
1Cardiovascular Regeneration Program, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), 28029 Madrid, Spain.
Insights
Researchers explore advanced imaging and mathematical methods to study heart development. These techniques provide high-resolution, quantitative insights into the complex process of cardiac morphogenesis.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Biophysics
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Heart morphogenesis is a complex, century-old research area involving dynamic growth and folding.
- Imaging heart development is challenging due to rapid morphological changes.
- Various model organisms and imaging techniques have been employed to study this process.
Purpose of the Study:
- To discuss imaging techniques for high-resolution whole-heart development visualization.
- To review mathematical approaches for quantifying cardiac morphogenesis.
- To explore modeling of cardiac dynamics at tissue and cellular levels.
Main Methods:
- Integration of multiscale live imaging with genetic labeling.
- High-resolution imaging of whole-heart development.
- 3D and 3D+time image analysis using mathematical approaches.
Main Results:
- Advanced imaging enables quantitative analysis of cardiac morphogenesis.
- Mathematical modeling allows for dynamic analysis at multiple scales.
- High-resolution imaging provides detailed insights into heart formation.
Conclusions:
- Imaging and mathematical modeling are crucial for understanding heart development.
- Quantitative analysis of cardiac morphogenesis is advancing rapidly.
- These integrated approaches offer new perspectives on heart formation dynamics.
Abstract:
Heart morphogenesis is a complex and dynamic process that has captivated researchers for almost a century. This process involves three main stages, during which the heart undergoes growth and folding on itself to form its common chambered shape. However, imaging heart development presents significant challenges due to the rapid and dynamic changes in heart morphology. Researchers have used different model organisms and developed various imaging techniques to obtain high-resolution images of heart development. Advanced imaging techniques have allowed the integration of multiscale live imaging approaches with genetic labeling, enabling the quantitative analysis of cardiac morphogenesis. Here, we discuss the various imaging techniques used to obtain high-resolution images of whole-heart development. We also review the mathematical approaches used to quantify cardiac morphogenesis from 3D and 3D+time images and to model its dynamics at the tissue and cellular levels.
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