(253bx) Automated Spatial Analysis of NFκB in Multispectral Images of Cerebrovascular Endothelial Cells

Cerebrovascular endothelial cells play a key part in the inflammatory response of the blood-brain barrier in pathological conditions such as Alzheimerâ??s disease. Specifically, the NF-κB signaling pathway plays a central role. Better understanding of the factors in inflammatory disease progression can lead to more effective treatments for such devastating illnesses like Alzheimerâ??s, asthma, arthritis, cancer, diabetes and many more inflammatory diseases. The presented approach analyzes spatial NF-κB distribution contained in multispectral stacked micrograph images of cerebrovascular endothelial cells indexed based on dose of the activating protein and the length of activation. Image analysis identifies the location of nuclear boundaries and quantifies NF-κB in relation to the closest nuclear boundary. This information is used to develop a mathematical model that describes the time and concentration dependence of NF-κB in response to the activating proteins. The proposed method allows for analysis and modeling of previously unexplored spatial behavior of NF-κB.