Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences, Volume. 16, Issue 4, 2243005(2023)

Three-dimensional remodeling of collagen fibers within cervical tissues in pregnancy

Lingxi Zhou1,∥... Rushan Jiang1,∥, Jia Meng1, Shuhao Qian1, Shenyi Jiang1, Chuncheng Wang1, Chen Yang1, Zhihua Ding1, Zheyue Shu3,*, and Zhiyi Liu12,** |Show fewer author(s)
Author Affiliations
  • 1State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, College of Optical Science and Engineering, International Research Center for Advanced Photonics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310027, P. R. China
  • 2Intelligent Optics & Photonics Research Center, Jiaxing Research Institute, Zhejiang University, Jiaxing, Zhejiang 314000, P. R. China
  • 3Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Department of Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310027 P. R. China
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    The cervix is a collagen-rich connective tissue that must remain closed during pregnancy while undergoing progressive remodeling in preparation for delivery, which begins before the onset of the preterm labor process. Therefore, it is important to resolve the changes of collagen fibers during cervical remodeling for the prevention of preterm labor. Herein, we assessed the spatial organization of collagen fibers in a three-dimensional (3D) context within cervical tissues of mice on day 3, 9, 12, 15 and 18 of gestation. We found that the 3D directional variance, a novel metric of alignment, was higher on day 9 than that on day 3 and then gradually decreased from day 9 to day 18. Compared with two-dimensional (2D) approach, a higher sensitivity was achieved from 3D analysis, highlighting the importance of truly 3D quantification. Moreover, the depth-dependent variation of 3D directional variance was investigated. By combining multiple 3D directional variance-derived metrics, a high level of classification accuracy was acquired in distinguishing different periods of pregnancy. These results demonstrate that 3D directional variance is sensitive to remodeling of collagen fibers within cervical tissues, shedding new light on highly-sensitive, early detection of preterm birth (PTB).

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    Lingxi Zhou, Rushan Jiang, Jia Meng, Shuhao Qian, Shenyi Jiang, Chuncheng Wang, Chen Yang, Zhihua Ding, Zheyue Shu, Zhiyi Liu. Three-dimensional remodeling of collagen fibers within cervical tissues in pregnancy[J]. Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences, 2023, 16(4): 2243005

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    Paper Information

    Category: Research Articles

    Received: Jul. 29, 2022

    Accepted: Dec. 6, 2022

    Published Online: Jul. 28, 2023

    The Author Email: Shu Zheyue (shuzheyue@zju.edu.cn), Liu Zhiyi (liuzhiyi07@zju.edu.cn)

    DOI:10.1142/S1793545822430052

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