Analysis of uterine morphology in ovariectomized rats treated with alendronate and hop extract using open-spurce software

0567538 - BC 2023 RIV SI eng J - Journal Article
Rodak, E. - Oršolić, N. - Grgac, Robert - Rajc, J. - Bakula, M. - Bijelić, N.
Analysis of uterine morphology in ovariectomized rats treated with alendronate and hop extract using open-spurce software.
Image Analysis and Stereology. Roč. 41, č. 3 (2022), s. 193-202. ISSN 1580-3139
Institutional support: RVO:60077344
Keywords : alendronate * hop extract * image analysis
OECD category: Other biological topics
Impact factor: 0.9, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Limited access
https://dx.doi.org/10.105566%2Fias.2791

Free and open-source software for image analysis and morphological measurements in scientific research is rising in popularity and capabilities as new methods, plugins and macros are being actively developed. A semi-automated method for measuring rat uterus morphology using free and open-source software (Gimp and FIJI) is demonstrated in this paper. Research was performed on ovariectomized rats as a model of osteoporosis (with sham-operated control group). The animals were treated with alendronate, hop extract or the combination of the two. Whole histological slides were photographed and images were manually pre-processed in Gimp. Color masks from Gimp were loaded in FIJI and polar transformation and measurements were made using a custom macro. This analysis was supplemented by manual assessment of Ki67 proliferation marker expression by a pathologist. Our results suggest that monotherapy or combination therapy with alendronate and hop extract does not cause proliferation of the endometrium in ovariectomized rats and would be safe for use in osteoporosis treatment in this regard. The semi-automated method used in this research is more precise and unbiased than older manual methods. Furthermore, it can be easily adapted for analysis of whole-slide images of almost any round or oval organ.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0341330