title: Automated image analysis for diameters and branching points of cerebral penetrating arteries and veins captured with two-photon microscopy.
abstract: The present study was aimed to characterize 3-dimensional (3D) morphology of the cortical microvasculature (e.g., penetrating artery and emerging vein), using two-photon microscopy and automated analysis for their cross-sectional diameters and branching positions in the mouse cortex. We observed that both artery and vein had variable cross-sectional diameters across cortical depths. The mean diameter was similar for both artery (17 ± 5 μm) and vein (15 ± 5 μm), and there were no detectable differences over depths of 50-400 μm. On the other hand, the number of branches was slightly increased up to 400-μm depth for both the artery and vein. The mean number of branches per 0.1 mm vessel length was 1.7 ± 1.2 and 3.8 ± 1.6 for the artery and vein, respectively. This method allows for quantification of the large volume data of microvascular images captured with two-photon microscopy. This will contribute to the morphometric analysis of the cortical microvasculature in functioning brains.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering and Intelligent System, Graduate School of Informatics and Engineering, The University of Electro-Communications, 1-5-1 Chofugaoka, Chofu, Tokyo, 182-8585, Japan. t.sugashi@ymdlab.mce.uec.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Takuma
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sugashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering and Intelligent System, Graduate School of Informatics and Engineering, The University of Electro-Communications, 1-5-1 Chofugaoka, Chofu, Tokyo, 182-8585, Japan.
authors.forename: Kouichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshihara
authors.affiliation: Molecular Imaging Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kawaguchi
authors.affiliation: Molecular Imaging Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takuwa
authors.affiliation: Molecular Imaging Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.affiliation: Molecular Imaging Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Iwao
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kanno
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering and Intelligent System, Graduate School of Informatics and Engineering, The University of Electro-Communications, 1-5-1 Chofugaoka, Chofu, Tokyo, 182-8585, Japan.
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering and Intelligent System, Graduate School of Informatics and Engineering, The University of Electro-Communications, 1-5-1 Chofugaoka, Chofu, Tokyo, 182-8585, Japan. masamoto@mce.uec.ac.jp.|Molecular Imaging Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan. masamoto@mce.uec.ac.jp.|Brain Science Inspired Life Support Research Center, University of Electro-Communications, 1-5-1 Chofugaoka, Chofu, Tokyo, 182-8585, Japan. masamoto@mce.uec.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Kazuto
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Masamoto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001158:Arteries / Q000502:physiology*; D001331:Automation; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008853:Microscopy / Q000379:methods*; D017785:Photons; D014680:Veins / Q000502:physiology*