Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medical Sciences Research Group, 'Analytical Cellular Pathology' and National Institute of Photonics Applied to Cell Biology, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil +55 19 32893897 kmetze.at.fcm.unicamp.br.
Expert Rev Mol Diagn. 2013 Sep;13(7):719-35. doi: 10.1586/14737159.2013.828889.
Fractal characteristics of chromatin, revealed by light or electron microscopy, have been reported during the last 20 years. Fractal features can easily be estimated in digitalized microscopic images and are helpful for diagnosis and prognosis of neoplasias. During carcinogenesis and tumor progression, an increase of the fractal dimension (FD) of stained nuclei has been shown in intraepithelial lesions of the uterine cervix and the anus, oral squamous cell carcinomas or adenocarcinomas of the pancreas. Furthermore, an increased FD of chromatin is an unfavorable prognostic factor in squamous cell carcinomas of the oral cavity and the larynx, melanomas and multiple myelomas. High goodness-of-fit of the regression line of the FD is a favorable prognostic factor in acute leukemias and multiple myelomas. The nucleus has fractal and power-law organization in several different levels, which might in part be interrelated. Some possible relations between modifications of the chromatin organization during carcinogenesis and tumor progression and an increase of the FD of stained chromatin are suggested. Furthermore, increased complexity of the chromatin structure, loss of heterochromatin and a less-perfect self-organization of the nucleus in aggressive neoplasias are discussed.
20 年来，通过光镜或电子显微镜已经揭示了染色质的分形特征。在数字化的显微镜图像中，很容易估计分形特征，有助于肿瘤的诊断和预后。在癌变和肿瘤进展过程中，宫颈和肛门上皮内病变、口腔鳞状细胞癌或胰腺腺癌中，染色核的分形维数（FD）增加。此外，染色质 FD 的增加是口腔和喉鳞状细胞癌、黑色素瘤和多发性骨髓瘤的不利预后因素。FD 回归线的高拟合优度是急性白血病和多发性骨髓瘤的有利预后因素。核在几个不同水平上具有分形和幂律组织，这可能部分相互关联。提示了在癌变和肿瘤进展过程中染色质组织的改变与染色质 FD 增加之间的一些可能的关系。此外，还讨论了侵袭性肿瘤中染色质结构复杂性增加、异染色质丢失和核自我组织不完善的问题。
