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Biomedical subjects

H R Kuo

Publications and source records attributed to H R Kuo.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Identification of early apoptosis in feulgen-stained cultured cells in situ by computerized image analysis.

A method is presented in which Feulgen-stained apoptotic cells are identified among cultured cells in situ using computerized image analysis of their nuclei. Images of either control (untreated) human lymphoblastoid cell nuclei or of similar cells treated with 3mM methyl methanesulfonate for 1 h, which induces apoptosis in 100% of the cells, were converted to a standard size (80 x 80 pixels) and Fourier transforms and boundary images based on 21 proportional mean gray-level thresholds obtained. The perimeter and the mean fractal dimension of the latter and 39 selected coefficients of the former were then obtained from which data were chosen heuristically and subjected to multivariate linear discrimination analysis. Eighty-two percent of a teaching set of 50 nuclei and 69% of a test set of 29 nuclei were correctly identified as apoptotic versus nonapoptotic by the computer, compared with 57% identified correctly by a panel of 7 pathologists. This study shows the feasibility of using this type of analysis to directly identify apoptotic cells in culture, and probably also in tissues, by direct observation using computerized imaging technology.

Apoptosis

Localization of B-DNA and Z-DNA in terminally differentiating fiber cells in the adult lens.

We examined histochemically and immunohistochemically the distribution of B- and Z-DNA in the epithelium and terminally differentiating dog lens fiber cells. On the basis of anti-DNA antibody reactivity, qualitative and quantitative data on B- and Z-DNA in cells were determined. Anti-B-DNA immunoreactivity gradually declined throughout nucleated fibers, with a precipitous decrease at approximately 90 microns. Anti-Z-DNA antibody binding decreased with a sudden loss of immunoreactivity at approximately 90 microns. The pattern of anti-B- and Z-DNA staining correlates with the loss of alpha-crystallin immunoreactivity, the major lens crystallin, and decreased eosin staining of proteins. Germinative zone cell nuclei showed the highest DNA probe binding values, followed by the superficial fibers, central zone, middle fibers, and deep fibers. The presence of single-stranded (ss)DNA in deeper fibers was detected by anti-ss-DNA antibodies. This is indicative of DNA degradation. These observations suggest that a dramatic reorganization of lens fiber cells' supramolecular order occurs at approximately 90 microns, the phase transition zone.

Adult

Echogenicity of hepatic versus portal vein walls revisited with histologic correlation.

The portal vein wall typically is hyperechoic over a wide range of beam-vessel angles, whereas the hepatic vein wall is hyperechoic only when the incident beam and the vessel are perpendicular. This has been attributed to marked discrepancies in mural thickness, collagen content, or perivascular fat between portal and hepatic veins. We evaluated histologically the walls of portal and hepatic veins using three cadaveric livers. For vessels with luminal diameter above 2 to 3 mm, hepatic vein and portal vein wall thicknesses were similar such that portal vein walls were not more than 50% thicker than those of hepatic veins of comparable size. Hepatic vein walls were mostly composed of parallel, tightly packed collagen fibers. In contrast, portal vein walls were composed of loosely arrayed, nonparallel connective tissue fibers which were separated by multiple intervening spaces and only a minority of which were collagenous. Perivascular fat was not identified adjacent to intrahepatic vessels beyond the liver hilus. The marked differences in echogenicity between portal vein and hepatic vein walls typically observed at ultrasonography thus cannot be attributed to differences in mural thickness, collagen content, or perivascular fat between these vessels. Rather, the distinct composition of the hepatic vein wall renders it a specular reflector, which is hyperechoic only when the angle between the ultrasound beam and the vessel wall is close to 90 degrees, whereas the composition of the portal vein wall enables it to appear hyperechoic at a wide range of beam-vessel angles.

Aged

Xeroderma pigmentosum.

Xeroderma pigmentosum is a rare, recessively transmitted disease associated with increased sensitivity to ultraviolet radiation in wavelengths found in sunlight, development of cancers in sun-exposed areas of the body in much larger numbers and much earlier in life than in normal individuals, and in some patients, neurologic deficiencies unrelated to sun exposure. Extensive cellular, biochemical, and molecular genetic studies in numerous laboratories have revealed that cells derived from patients with this disease have defective repair of ultraviolet-light-induced damage in cellular DNA, and that extensive genetic heterogeneity and numerous distinct genes are involved in the genetics of this disease and the etiopathogenesis of its associated changes. A number of these genes and gene products are now being, or have been, cloned, and their gene products characterized.

DNA

The quantification and distribution of nasal sebaceous glands using image analysis.

The distribution of sebaceous glands in nasal skin is of interest because the presence of these adnexal structures significantly influences the outcome of healing. Using whole nasal skins dissected from cadavers, we prepared tissue sections from the nasal bridge to the nasal tip, both from the midline and lateral aspects. The sebaceous glands in these sections were analyzed for the following parameters: (1) size of the glands, (2) width of luminal cross-sections, and (3) depth of the glands. These parameters were studied using a Leitz Quantimet 500 Plus image analyzer and software to quantify the results. We found that the superior or proximal nasal skin contains fewer, smaller, more superficially located sebaceous glands. The inferior or distal nasal skin contains increased numbers of sebaceous glands which are markedly larger in size. The glands in the distal nose have larger lumina, are situated both superficially and deep in the dermis, and also occupy a greater percentage of the dermis. We identified an anatomical breakpoint on the nasal skin, marking the transition from superficial, small sebaceous glands to superficial-and-deep, enlarged glands. The columella was found to be similar to the proximal nasal skin.

Humans