Automated tracing of horizontal neuron processes during retinal development

Ryan A. Kerekes, Rodrigo A.P. Martins, Denise Davis, Mahmut Karakaya, Shaun Gleason, Michael A. Dyer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

In the developing mammalian retina, horizontal neurons undergo a dramatic reorganization of their processes shortly after they migrate to their appropriate laminar position. This is an important process because it is now understood that the apical processes are important for establishing the regular mosaic of horizontal cells in the retina and proper reorganization during lamination is required for synaptogenesis with photoreceptors and bipolar neurons. However, this process is difficult to study because the analysis of horizontal neuron anatomy is labor intensive and time-consuming. In this paper, we present a computational method for automatically tracing the three-dimensional (3-D) dendritic structure of horizontal retinal neurons in two-photon laser scanning microscope (TPLSM) imagery. Our method is based on 3-D skeletonization and is thus able to preserve the complex structure of the dendritic arbor of these cells. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach by comparing our tracing results against two sets of semi-automated traces over a set of 10 horizontal neurons ranging in age from P1 to P5. We observe an average agreement level of 81% between our automated trace and the manual traces. This automated method will serve as an important starting point for further refinement and optimization.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)583-593
Number of pages11
JournalNeurochemical Research
Volume36
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2011

Funding

Acknowledgments Supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (R01EY018599 and R01EY014867); Cancer Center Support CA 21765 from the National Cancer Institute; and grants from the American Cancer Society, the Pew Charitable Trust, Macular Vision Research Foundation and the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities. Dr. Dyer is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Early Career Investigator.

Keywords

  • Automated tracing
  • Horizontal retinal neuron
  • Retinal development
  • Segmentation algorithm

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