A reversible form of axon damage in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and multiple sclerosis

From the editor: It is our pleasure to announce that one of our customers, Prof. Merkler, at the University of Geneva, has published an article in Nature Medicine, in which Definiens is mentioned in the supplementary methods. Here is the citation:

“….In situ automated evaluation of axonal densities

Cross-sections of spinal cords were stained by Bielschowsky silver impregnation and the axon densities were quantified automatically applying a custom-programmed script in Cognition Network Language based on the Definiens Cognition Network Technology® platform (Definiens Developer XD software). Briefly, the programmed script first discriminates between tissue and background (no tissue) by spectral difference detection. Subsequently, the area of detected tissue (region of interest, ROI) is calculated and “axonal structures” within this ROI are detected based on their dark black color. To discriminate between nucleoli of inflammatory cells and axons (both structures are stained black in Bielschowsky silver impregnation) only black structures without a faint brown-stained circumference (nucleus) were classified as ”axonal structures”. In a next step, multiple axons in direct contact with each other were further split into the corresponding individual axons, if the splitting improved the elliptic shape of an axon. Finally, all axons were grouped into different size-classes based on their largest diameter…..” Nature Medicine doi:10.1038/nm.2324

Affiliations

Research Unit Therapy Development, Institute of Clinical Neuroimmunology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.

Ivana Nikić, Catherine Sorbara, Florence M Bareyre & Martin Kerschensteiner

Institute of Neuropathology, Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany.

Doron Merkler, Mario Kreutzfeldt & Wolfgang Brück

Division of Clinical Pathology, Geneva University Hospital and Department of Pathology and Immunology, University of Geneva, Switzerland.

Doron Merkler & Mario Kreutzfeldt

Department of Physiology, Indiana University School of Medicine-Muncie, Muncie, Indiana, USA.

Mary Brinkoetter & Derron Bishop

Chair for Biomolecular Sensors, Center for Integrated Protein Sciences (Munich) at the Institute of Neuroscience, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany.

Thomas Misgeld

Institute for Advanced Study, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany.

Thomas Misgeld