Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41430670›Full record

ArticleRespiratory research2025

Imaging the extracellular matrix structure and remodeling in healthy, fibrotic, and emphysematous human precision-cut lung slices.

Yuqing Deng, Joseph K Hall, Yu Wang, Jae Hun Kim, Elizabeth Bartolák-Suki, Hadi T Nia, Holger Behrsing, Kenneth R Lutchen, Ramaswamy Krishnan, Béla Suki

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Respiratory research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Yuqing DengDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
Joseph K HallDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
Yu WangDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
Jae Hun KimDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
Elizabeth Bartolák-SukiDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
Hadi T NiaDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
Holger BehrsingInstitute for In Vitro Sciences, Inc, Gaithersburg, MD, USA.
Kenneth R LutchenDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
Ramaswamy KrishnanMechanobiologix, LLC, Newton, MA, USA.
Béla SukiDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA. bsuki@bu.edu.

Funding

Probing functioning lung at the cellular resolution in health and diseaseDP2HL168562 · NHLBI · BOSTON UNIVERSITY (CHARLES RIVER CAMPUS) · PI NIA, HADI TAVAKOLI · 2022 to 2025
$2.5M
Stiffness measurements in human lung slices to evaluate therapeutic and preventive potentials of anti-fibrotic drugsR43HL176301 · NHLBI · MECHANOBIOLOGIX, LLC · PI KIM, JAE HUN · 2024 to 2024
$307k
NHLBI NIH HHS DP2 HL168562NHLBI NIH HHS R43 HL176301NIH HHS 1R43 HL176301NIH HHS DP2HL168562
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Human precision-cut lung slices (hPCLS) have been used for studying extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling in lung diseases; yet, quantitative assessment of disease-induced structural changes remains limited. We utilized multiphoton microscopy combining second harmonic generation (SHG), two-photon excited fluorescence (TPEF) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) to characterize ECM organization in hPCLS from healthy, pulmonary fibrosis (PF), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) donors. We applied quantitative metrics including fractal dimension, texture correlation analysis, fiber diameter and waviness measurements to assess ECM structural alterations. PF samples exhibited significantly increased fractal dimension and elevated collagen content, while COPD samples showed reduced fractal dimension and collagen content. Collagen fiber waviness, diameter and structure from texture analysis were significantly higher in diseased samples. Tissue stiffness, as a physiological readout measured from tensile tests, was significantly higher in PF than in healthy and COPD samples. The fractal dimension and collagen content estimated from standard histology showed a high correlation with collagen content (R2 = 0.92). Alveolar airspaces from OCT and histological images had slightly higher mean diameters from healthy samples than from PF and COPD samples, with diseased tissues showing increased heterogeneity characterized by collapsed alveoli clustered around enlarged airspaces. Elastase treatment of hPCLS significantly reduced texture correlation while waviness showed a similar trend, suggesting a possible role of elastic fibers in maintaining collagen network organization. Our comprehensive image and functional stiffness analyses enable quantitative assessment of ECM remodeling and offer valuable tools for monitoring structure-function alterations in lung disease.

Indexed as

EmphysemaExtracellular MatrixLungPulmonary FibrosisAgedAirway RemodelingCollagenFemaleFractalsHumansMaleMicroscopy, Fluorescence, MultiphotonMiddle AgedPulmonary Disease, Chronic ObstructiveTomography, Optical CoherenceCollagenChronic obstructive pulmonary diseaseExtracellular matrix remodelingHistologyHuman precision-cut lung slicesOptical coherence tomographyPulmonary fibrosisSecond harmonic generation

Identifiers

PMID41430670
PMCPMC12838125

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.