De Vico Gionata, Cataldi Marielda, Maiolino Paola, Carella Francesca, Beltraminelli Stefano, Losa Gabriele A
Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Natural Sciences, Naples University Federico II, Naples.
Anal Quant Cytol Histol. 2011 Jun;33(3):151-7.
To assess by fractal analysis the specific architecture, growth pattern, and tissue distribution that characterize subtypes of canine trichoblastoma, a benign tumor derived from or reduplicating the primitive hair germ of embryonic follicular development.
Tumor masks and outlines obtained from immunohistologic images by gray threshold segmentation of epithelial components were analyzed by fractal and conventional morphometry. The fractal dimension [FD] of each investigated case was determined from the slope of the regression line describing the fractal region within a bi-asymptotic curve experimentally established.
All tumor masks and outlines obtained by gray threshold segmentation of epithelial components showed fractal self-similar properties that were evaluated by peculiar FDs. However, only masks revealed significantly different FD values, ranging from 1.75 to 1.85, enabling the discrimination of canine trichoblastoma subtypes.
The FD data suggest that an iterative morphogenetic process, involving both the air germ and associated dermal papilla, may be responsible of the peculiar tissue architecture of trichoblastoma. The present study emphasized the reliability of fractal analysis in achieving the objective characterization of canine trichoblastoma.
通过分形分析评估犬毛母细胞瘤亚型的特定结构、生长模式和组织分布，犬毛母细胞瘤是一种源自胚胎毛囊发育的原始毛胚或重复其结构的良性肿瘤。
通过上皮成分的灰度阈值分割从免疫组织学图像获得的肿瘤掩膜和轮廓，采用分形和传统形态测量法进行分析。每个研究病例的分形维数[FD]由描述实验建立的双渐近曲线内分形区域的回归线斜率确定。
通过上皮成分的灰度阈值分割获得的所有肿瘤掩膜和轮廓均显示出分形自相似特性，这些特性通过特殊的FD值进行评估。然而，只有掩膜显示出显著不同的FD值，范围为1.75至1.85，这使得能够区分犬毛母细胞瘤的亚型。
FD数据表明，涉及毛胚和相关真皮乳头的迭代形态发生过程可能是毛母细胞瘤特殊组织结构的原因。本研究强调了分形分析在实现犬毛母细胞瘤客观特征描述方面的可靠性。
