Fractal Analysis for Cytoskeleton Image Under Simulated Microgravity
基于分形特征的模拟失重条件下细胞骨架的图像分析

Cytoskeletal distortion was hard to describe straightly with some quantities due to the complexity of cytoskeletal structure and the morphological uncertainty. For describing the morphological modification of cytoskeleton under simulated microgravity and estimating the confront effect of drugs on cells under simulated microgravity, this paper focuses on get the characteristic parameter that quantify the morphological change of cytoskeletal images. Fractal analysis was applied here to quantify the morphological variation of the cytoskeleton under simulated microgravity. This paper used the methods of covering blankets and box-dimension estimation to count the image complexity for microtubules and microfilaments. To study the medical effect of quercetin, a kind of flavonoids, which could counterwork to effects of microgravity on cells, cytoskeleton image of cells treated by quercetin under simulated microgravity were also analysed. The image complexity of cytoskeleton was decreased under simulated microgravity, but it was partly inhibited by quercetin. The present results demonstrate that fractal dimension could show the texture change of cytoskeletal image under simulated microgravity, and it would be a promising approach to quantitative analysis of the morphological modification of cytoskeleton in different environments.