title: Spatial arrangement of the heart structure: Application of second-order stereology in diabetic rats.
abstract: The present study explored three-dimensional spatial arrangements of the cardiomyocytes and microvessels within the heart of rats and evaluated the arrangement for differences after diabetes using second-order stereology. Isector method was applied to obtain isotropic uniform random sections of the heart. The pair correlation g(r) and cross-correlation functions were estimated by counting dipole probes (with length of 3.57 μm) superimposed on histological sections of the heart. The co-variograms indicated that the curve of g(r) for the cardiomyocyte showed a gap between cardiomyocytes at r=21-25 μm in the control rats and a wider gap at r=18-50 μm in diabetic hearts. Estimates of g(r) for the vessels also showed a wider gap (at r=25-39 μm) in diabetic hearts compared to the control rats (r=25-32 μm). These indicate a negative correlation (repulsion) between the cardiomyocytes and microvessels in the diabetic hearts. Evaluation of the cross-correlation function of the cardiomyocytes and microvessels showed that at 32-36 μm, both structures had a negative correlation in the control group, but not in the diabetic rats.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dissociation of the cardiomyocytes at some places can be seen in diabetic heart. This can be seen also in microvessels. Neither cardiomyocytes nor microvessels are arranged normally after diabetes.
authors.affiliation: Histomorphometry & Stereology Research Centre, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran; Anatomy Department, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Noorafshan
authors.affiliation: Histomorphometry & Stereology Research Centre, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran; Anatomy Department, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. Electronic address: karbalas@sums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Saied
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karbalay-Doust
authors.affiliation: Pharmacology Department, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Hajar
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Khazraei
authors.affiliation: Histomorphometry & Stereology Research Centre, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran; Physiology Department, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rafati
authors.affiliation: Pharmacology Department, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mirkhani
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D002196:Capillaries / Q000473:pathology; D003238:Connective Tissue / Q000473:pathology; D016208:Databases, Factual; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000473:pathology*; D004210:Dissection; D008297:Male; D008853:Microscopy / Q000379:methods*; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology*; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000473:pathology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
keywords: Diabetes; Heart; Spatial arrangements; Stereology