Abstract
Capillary density in skeletal muscles is key to estimate exercise capacity in healthy individuals, athletes, and those with muscle-related pathologies. Here, we present a step-by-step, high-throughput semi-automated method for quantifying capillary density from whole human skeletal muscle cross-sections, in areas of the muscle occupied by myofibers. We provide a detailed protocol for immunofluorescence staining, image acquisition, processing, and quantification. Image processing is performed in ImageJ, and data analysis is conducted in R. The provided protocol allows high-throughput quantification of capillary density. Key features • This protocol builds upon the method and results described in Abbassi-Daloii et al. (2023b). • It includes step-by-step details on image acquisition and image processing of the entire muscle section. • It enables high-throughput and semi-automated image quantification of capillary density. • It provides a robust analysis for determining capillary density over the entire muscle cross section.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 4922 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Bio-protocol |
Volume | 14 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 20 Jan 2024 |
Keywords
- CD31
- Capillary density
- Endoglin
- Image quantification
- Immunofluorescence
- Skeletal muscle