Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41658561›Full record

ArticleNPJ artificial intelligence2026

AI driven 3D subcellular RPE map discovers cell state transitions in establishment of apical-basal polarity.

Davide Ortolan, Pushkar Sathe, Andrei Volkov, Dominik Reichert, Sheldon Sebastian, Arvydas Maminishkis, Nicholas J Schaub, Bengt Ljungquist, Devika Bose, Jorge Ferrari and 6 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in NPJ artificial intelligence, 2026. 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. NN-assisted image analysis for quantifying intracellularFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026
    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

16 authors.

Davide Ortolan *Ocular and Stem Cell Translational Research Section, National Eye Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD USA.
Pushkar Sathe *Information Technology Laboratory, Information Systems Group, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD USA.
Andrei VolkovOcular and Stem Cell Translational Research Section, National Eye Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD USA.
Dominik ReichertOcular and Stem Cell Translational Research Section, National Eye Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD USA.
Sheldon SebastianOcular and Stem Cell Translational Research Section, National Eye Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD USA.
Arvydas MaminishkisOcular and Stem Cell Translational Research Section, National Eye Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD USA.
Nicholas J SchaubInformation Resources Technology Branch, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, NIH, Bethesda, MD USA.
Bengt LjungquistInformation Resources Technology Branch, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, NIH, Bethesda, MD USA.
Devika BoseOcular and Stem Cell Translational Research Section, National Eye Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD USA.
Jorge FerrariOcular and Stem Cell Translational Research Section, National Eye Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD USA.
Nyusha LinOcular and Stem Cell Translational Research Section, National Eye Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD USA.
Gianluca PegoraroHigh Throughput Imaging Facility (HiTIF), National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD USA.
Carl G SimonMaterials Measurement Laboratory, Biosystems and Biomaterials Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD USA.
Ruchi SharmaOcular and Stem Cell Translational Research Section, National Eye Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD USA.
Peter BajcsyInformation Technology Laboratory, Information Systems Group, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD USA.
Kapil BhartiOcular and Stem Cell Translational Research Section, National Eye Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is a specialized cell monolayer that forms the barrier between the subretinal and choroidal spaces. During development, RPE cells polarize perpendicular to the monolayer plane such that organelles attain specific intracellular locations. This allows the RPE to differentially interact with overlying photoreceptors and underlying choriocapillaris. When RPE polarity is disrupted, tissue homeostasis is disturbed, leading to retinal degeneration. The subcellular organizational principles of RPE polarity are unknown. We developed an artificial intelligence (AI), specifically a mask region-based convolutional neural network-assisted high-content image analysis platform combined with mathematical modeling to develop a quantitative three-dimensional digital twin of RPE subcellular structures during the establishment of apical/basal polarity, polarity organization with learning-based analysis for RPE image segmentation (POLARIS). We discovered, during apical/basal polarization, cells constrict along the lateral axis and elongate apically, nuclear volume decreases, nuclear envelope develops invaginations, junctional complexes consolidate to the lateral membrane, the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria increase in volume and translocate towards the nucleus, and lysosomes move towards the central-apical side. AI algorithm and mathematical analysis reveal non-stochastic cell state transitions and organelle interactions in 3D during RPE polarization. These integrated AI-based quantitative data provide a reference digital twin to discover intracellular defects in diseased RPE.

Indexed as

BiophysicsCell biologyComputational biology and bioinformaticsNeuroscience

Identifiers

PMID41658561
PMCPMC12880915

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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.