Abstract

Cilia are hair-like membrane protrusions that emanate from the surface of most vertebrate cells and are classified into motile and primary cilia. Motile cilia move fluid flow or propel cells, while also fulfill sensory functions. Primary cilia are immotile and act as a cellular antenna, translating environmental cues into cellular responses. Ciliary dysfunction leads to severe diseases, commonly termed ciliopathies. The molecular details underlying ciliopathies and ciliary function are, however, not well understood. Since cilia are small subcellular compartments, imaging-based approaches have been used to study them. However, tools to comprehensively analyze images are lacking. Automatic analysis approaches require commercial software and are limited to 2D analysis and only a few parameters. The widely used manual analysis approaches are time consuming, user-biased, and difficult to compare. Here, we present CiliaQ, a package of open-source, freely available, and easy-to-use ImageJ plugins. CiliaQ allows high-throughput analysis of 2D and 3D, static or time-lapse images from fluorescence microscopy of cilia in cell culture or tissues, and outputs a comprehensive list of parameters for ciliary morphology, length, bending, orientation, and fluorescence intensity, making it broadly applicable. We envision CiliaQ as a resource and platform for reproducible and comprehensive analysis of ciliary function in health and disease.

Graphic abstract

中文翻译：

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CiliaQ：一个简单的开源软件，用于自动量化 2D、3D 和 4D 图像中的睫状体形态和荧光

摘要

纤毛是从大多数脊椎动物细胞表面发出的毛发状膜突起，分为运动纤毛和初级纤毛。运动纤毛移动流体流动或推动细胞，同时也履行感官功能。初级纤毛是不动的，充当细胞天线，将环境线索转化为细胞反应。纤毛功能障碍会导致严重的疾病，通常称为纤毛病。然而，纤毛病和纤毛功能背后的分子细节尚不清楚。由于纤毛是小的亚细胞区室，因此已使用基于成像的方法来研究它们。然而，缺乏综合分析图像的工具。自动分析方法需要商业软件，并且仅限于 2D 分析和几个参数。广泛使用的手动分析方法耗时、偏向用户且难以比较。在这里，我们展示了 CiliaQ，这是一个开源、免费且易于使用的 ImageJ 插件包。CiliaQ 允许对来自细胞培养或组织中纤毛荧光显微镜的 2D 和 3D、静态或延时图像进行高通量分析，并输出关于纤毛形态、长度、弯曲、方向和荧光强度的综合参数列表，使它广泛适用。我们将 CiliaQ 视为一个资源和平台，用于对健康和疾病中的纤毛功能进行可重复和全面的分析。来自细胞培养物或组织中纤毛的荧光显微镜的静态或延时图像，并输出纤毛形态、长度、弯曲、方向和荧光强度的综合参数列表，使其具有广泛的适用性。我们将 CiliaQ 视为一个资源和平台，用于对健康和疾病中的纤毛功能进行可重复和全面的分析。来自细胞培养物或组织中纤毛的荧光显微镜的静态或延时图像，并输出纤毛形态、长度、弯曲、方向和荧光强度的综合参数列表，使其具有广泛的适用性。我们将 CiliaQ 视为一个资源和平台，用于对健康和疾病中的纤毛功能进行可重复和全面的分析。

图形摘要