Spatial analysis of histology in 3D: quantification and visualization of organ and tumor level tissue environment
Pekka Ruusuvuori, Masi Valkonen, Kimmo Kartasalo, Mira Valkonen, Tapio Visakorpi, Matti Nykter, Leena Latonen
Abstract
mouse prostate tumor model. We show that quantitative assessment of tumor sizes, shapes, and separation between spatial locations within the organ enable characterizing and grouping tumors. Further, we show that 3D visualization of tissue with computationally quantified features provides an intuitive way to observe tissue pathology. Our results underline the heterogeneity in composition and cellular organization within individual tumors. As an example, we show how prostate tumors have nuclear density gradients indicating areas of tumor growth directions and reflecting varying pressure from the surrounding tissue. The methods presented here are applicable to any tissue and different types of pathologies. This work provides a proof-of-principle for gaining a comprehensive view from histology by studying it quantitatively in 3D.