Autofluorescence Label-Free Imaging of the Liver Reticular Structure.

Autofluorescence rising from biological substrates under proper excitation light depends on the presence of specific endogenous fluorophores and can provide information on the morpho-functional properties in which they are strictly involved. Besides the numerous endogenous fluorophores involved in metabolic functions, fibrous proteins may act as direct, label-free biomarkers of the tissue structural organization. The optical properties of collagen, in particular, are currently applied as an alternative to established histochemical procedures to investigate the connective tissue as well as its changes in diseased conditions. This is particularly true in hepatology where the histochemical procedures to label the reticular structure are not routinely applied, as they are complex and time-consuming. The morphology of the liver reticular structure and its changes are up to now poorly considered despite the increasing awareness of the regulatory role played by the remodeling of the reticular structure in pathological conditions. In this context, the autofluorescence label-free imaging has proven to be a suitable approach. © 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Citation

Anna C Croce, Giuseppina Palladini, Andrea Ferrigno, Mariapia Vairetti. Autofluorescence Label-Free Imaging of the Liver Reticular Structure. Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.). 2023;2566:29-35

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PMID: 36152239

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