In vivo structural imaging of the cornea by polarization-resolved second harmonic microscopy

Fast interferometric second harmonic generation microscopy

We report the implementation of fast Interferometric Second Harmonic Generation (I-SHG) microscopy to study the polarity of non-centrosymmetric structures in biological tissues. Using a sample quartz plate, we calibrate the spatially varying phase shift introduced by the laser scanning system. Compensating this phase shift allows us to retrieve the correct phase distribution in periodically poled lithium niobate, used as a model sample. Finally, we used fast interferometric second harmonic generation microscopy to acquire phase images in tendon. Our results show that the method exposed here, using a laser scanning system, allows to recover the polarity of collagen fibrils, similarly to standard I-SHG (using a sample scanning system), but with an imaging time about 40 times shorter.

Simultaneous microstructural and mechanical characterization of human corneas at increasing pressure

The cornea, through its shape, is the main contributor to the eye׳s focusing power. Pathological alterations of the cornea strongly affect the eye power. To improve treatments, complex biomechanical models have been developed based on the architecture and mechanical properties of the collagen network in the stroma, the main layer of the cornea. However, direct investigations of the structure of the stroma, as well as its link to the mechanical response, remained limited. We propose here an original set up, associating nonlinear optical imaging and mechanical testing. By using polarization resolved Second Harmonic signals, we simultaneously quantified micrometer (orientation of the collagen lamellae) and nanometer (local disorder within lamellae) scale corneal organization. We showed that the organization of the lamellae changes along the stroma thickness. Then, we measured simultaneously the deformation on the epithelial side of the cornea and the reorientation of the collagen lamellae for increasing intraocular pressure levels, from physiological ones to pathological ones. We showed that the observed deformation is not correlated to initial orientation, but to the reorganization of the lamellae in the stroma. Our results, by providing a direct multi-scale observation, will be useful for the development of more accurate biomechanical models.

Analysis and quantification of collagen organization with the structure tensor in second harmonic microscopy images of ocular tissues

The important biological role of collagen-based tissues and the changes produced in the fiber distribution under particular situations (surgery, pathology, external damage, etc.) require tools for the analysis of the collagen organization that might potentially help in early diagnoses. Since collagen structures provide efficient second harmonic generation (SHG) signals, SHG microscopy has emerged as a powerful technique to visualize collagen fibers and qualitatively discriminate normal from abnormal tissues. Here we propose a quantitative method based on the structure tensor to quantify the different organization of collagen patterns in SHG images of ocular tissues. Results show that well-organized collagen distributions present a high degree of isotropy (DoI), a dominant orientation (PO), and a low structural dispersion (SD). On the other hand, the PO vanishes when the collagen tissue is not organized as a consequence of an increase in the SD and a decrease in the DoI. The proposed method is also able to discriminate partially organized samples. The combination of SHG microscopy and the structure tensor is a useful method to objectively classify collagen distributions. Clinical applications of this technique could help in the diagnosis and tracking of pathologies related to collagen disorders in connective tissue.

Analysis of forward and backward Second Harmonic Generation images to probe the nanoscale structure of collagen within bone and cartilage

Collagen ultrastructure plays a central role in the function of a wide range of connective tissues. Studying collagen structure at the microscopic scale is therefore of considerable interest to understand the mechanisms of tissue pathologies. Here, we use second harmonic generation microscopy to characterize collagen structure within bone and articular cartilage in human knees. We analyze the intensity dependence on polarization and discuss the differences between Forward and Backward images in both tissues. Focusing on articular cartilage, we observe an increase in Forward/Backward ratio from the cartilage surface to the bone. Coupling these results to numerical simulations reveals the evolution of collagen fibril diameter and spatial organization as a function of depth within cartilage.

Phase matching of backward second harmonic generation assisted by lattice structure in collagen tissues

Phase matching of backward second harmonic generation (SHG) in a periodic structure of collagen fibrils is investigated through theoretical modeling, simulation, and experiments. The lattice structure of collagen fibrils is considered to provide a virtual momentum for assisting the phase matching of backward SHG. Phase matching over a relatively wide excitation wavelength range is achieved by tilting the angle of the fundamental excitation and SHG wave vectors. The SHG intensity in the periodic structure is simulated to quantify the phase matching effect. The effect of the fundamental excitation and the SHG emission angles on the peak excitation wavelength of the SHG excitation spectrum is further validated in experiments, where the excitation and emission angles are controlled by spatial filtering. It is found that an optimized excitation wavelength exists for a certain collagen fibril structure, which shifts toward a shorter wavelength when the excitation and emission angles are increased. Our results show that the lattice structure of collagen fibrils can assist the phase matching, providing a mechanism for generating backward SHG in multiphoton microscopy.

Spectral behavior of second harmonic signals from organic and non-organic materials in multiphoton microscopy

Multimodal nonlinear microscopy allows imaging of highly ordered biological tissue due to spectral separation of nonlinear signals. This requires certain knowledge about the spectral distribution of the different nonlinear signals. In contrast to several publications we demonstrate a factor of [Formula: see text] relating the full width at half maximum of a gaussian laser pulse spectrum to the corresponding second harmonic pulse spectrum in the spatial domain by using a simple theoretical model. Experiments on monopotassium phosphate crystals (KDP-crystals) and on porcine corneal tissue support our theoretical predictions. Furthermore, no differences in spectral width were found for epi- and trans-detection of the second harmonic signal. Overall, these results may help to build an optimized multiphoton setup for spectral separation of nonlinear signals.

Translational label-free nonlinear imaging biomarkers to classify the human corneal microstructure

Diseases that affect the cornea can lead to severe vision loss and have tremendous social impact. These diseases are associated to deviations from normal structural order and orientation of collagen fibril bundles. Unfortunately, resolving non-invasively the corneal collagen structure is not possible to date. In this work, polarization sensitive second harmonic generation (pSHG) microscopy is used to obtain information with molecular specificity on microstructure of human corneas. This information is used to develop a set of label-free imaging biomarkers that were generated by means of a novel methodology based on mathematical tensorial calculus. The method is proven to be highly sensitive and robust. The use of these biomarkers permits accurate characterization of the anisotropic, depth-dependent, structural organization of corneal collagen fibril bundles without any a priori information. The method can be valuable to improve understanding of microstructural pathophysiological changes of the human cornea close to in vivo conditions.

Corneal structure and transparency

The corneal stroma plays several pivotal roles within the eye. Optically, it is the main refracting lens and thus has to combine almost perfect transmission of visible light with precise shape, in order to focus incoming light. Furthermore, mechanically it has to be extremely tough to protect the inner contents of the eye. These functions are governed by its structure at all hierarchical levels. The basic principles of corneal structure and transparency have been known for some time, but in recent years X-ray scattering and other methods have revealed that the details of this structure are far more complex than previously thought and that the intricacy of the arrangement of the collagenous lamellae provides the shape and the mechanical properties of the tissue. At the molecular level, modern technologies and theoretical modelling have started to explain exactly how the collagen fibrils are arranged within the stromal lamellae and how proteoglycans maintain this ultrastructure. In this review we describe the current state of knowledge about the three-dimensional stromal architecture at the microscopic level, and about the control mechanisms at the nanoscopic level that lead to optical transparency.

Second-harmonic generation microscopy of photocurable polymer intrastromal implants in ex-vivo corneas

A custom adaptive-optics (AO) multiphoton microscope was used to visualize the corneal stroma after the insertion of a photocurable polymer material. A lamellar pocket was created and a certain amount of polymer in liquid form was injected. This turned into a rigid film after UV irradiation. Intact eyes were used as control. Tomographic and regular second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy images were recorded from both control and corneas with polymer implants. In control corneas, the SHG signal decreased uniformly with depth. However, treated corneas exhibited an abrupt loss of SHG signal at the implant location. The use of AO increased the SHG levels and improved the visualization of the stroma, not only at deeper corneal layers but also beneath the implant. Moreover, the absence of SHG signal from the implant allowed its geometrical characterization (thickness and location). This technique offers a potential tool for non-invasive analysis of morphological changes in the cornea after surgery or treatment, and might be useful in future clinical environments.

Theoretical, numerical and experimental study of geometrical parameters that affect anisotropy measurements in polarization-resolved SHG microscopy

Polarization-resolved second harmonic generation (P-SHG) microscopy is an efficient imaging modality for in situ observation of biopolymers structure in tissues, providing information about their mean in-plane orientation and their molecular structure and 3D distribution. Nevertheless, P-SHG signal build-up in a strongly focused regime is not throroughly understood yet, preventing reliable and reproducible measurements. In this study, theoretical analysis, vectorial numerical simulations and experiments are performed to understand how geometrical parameters, such as excitation and collection numerical apertures and detection direction, affect P-SHG imaging in homogeneous collagen tissues. A good agreement is obtained in tendon and cornea, showing that detection geometry significantly affects the SHG anisotropy measurements, but not the measurements of collagen in-plane orientation.

From nano to macro: studying the hierarchical structure of the corneal extracellular matrix

In this review, we discuss current methods for studying ocular extracellular matrix (ECM) assembly from the 'nano' to the 'macro' levels of hierarchical organization. Since collagen is the major structural protein in the eye, providing mechanical strength and controlling ocular shape, the methods presented focus on understanding the molecular assembly of collagen at the nanometre level using X-ray scattering through to the millimetre to centimetre level using non-linear optical (NLO) imaging of second harmonic generated (SHG) signals. Three-dimensional analysis of ECM structure is also discussed, including electron tomography, serial block face scanning electron microscopy (SBF-SEM) and digital image reconstruction. Techniques to detect non-collagenous structural components of the ECM are also presented, and these include immunoelectron microscopy and staining with cationic dyes. Together, these various approaches are providing new insights into the structural blueprint of the ocular ECM, and in particular that of the cornea, which impacts upon our current understanding of the control of corneal shape, pathogenic mechanisms underlying ectatic disorders of the cornea and the potential for corneal tissue engineering.

Polarization microscope using a near infrared full-Stokes imaging polarimeter

This paper presents a polarization microscope using an infrared (IR) full-Stokes imaging polarimeter. The IR polarimeter utilizes an optimized interference-based micropolarizer design, and provides full-Stokes images with resolution of 1608 × 1208 at 35 frames/second. The device fabrication, instrument calibration, performance evaluation, and measurement results are presented. The measurement error of the imaging polarimeter is less than 3.5%, and the standard deviations are less than 2%.

Mechanics and spiral formation in the rat cornea

During the maturation of some mammals such as mice and rats, corneal epithelial cells tend to develop into patterns such as spirals over time. A better understanding of these patterns can help to understand how the organ develops and may give insight into some of the diseases affecting corneal development. In this paper, a framework for explaining the development of the epithelial cells forming spiral patterns due to the effect of tensile and shear strains is proposed. Using chimeric animals, made by combining embryonic cells from genetically distinguishable strains, we can observe the development of patterns in the cornea. Aggregates of cell progeny from one strain or the other called patches form as organs and tissue develop. The boundaries of these patches are fitted with logarithmic spirals on confocal images of adult rat corneas. To compare with observed patterns, we develop a three-dimensional large strain finite element model for the rat cornea under intraocular pressure to examine the strain distribution on the cornea surface. The model includes the effects of oriented and dispersed fibrils families throughout the cornea and a nearly incompressible matrix. Tracing the directions of critical strain vectors on the cornea surface leads to spiral-like curves that are compared to the observed logarithmic spirals. Good agreement between the observed and numerical curves supports the proposed assumption that shear and tensile strains facilitate sliding of epithelial cells to develop spiral patterns.

High throughput second harmonic imaging for label-free biological applications

Second harmonic generation (SHG) is inherently sensitive to the absence of spatial centrosymmetry, which can render it intrinsically sensitive to interfacial processes, chemical changes and electrochemical responses. Here, we seek to improve the imaging throughput of SHG microscopy by using a wide-field imaging scheme in combination with a medium-range repetition rate amplified near infrared femtosecond laser source and gated detection. The imaging throughput of this configuration is tested by measuring the optical image contrast for different image acquisition times of BaTiO₃ nanoparticles in two different wide-field setups and one commercial point-scanning configuration. We find that the second harmonic imaging throughput is improved by 2-3 orders of magnitude compared to point-scan imaging. Capitalizing on this result, we perform low fluence imaging of (parts of) living mammalian neurons in culture.

Fast monitoring of in-vivo conformational changes in myosin using single scan polarization-SHG microscopy

Fast imaging of molecular changes under high-resolution and label-free conditions are essential for understanding in-vivo processes, however, current techniques are not able to monitor such changes in real time. Polarization sensitive second harmonic generation (PSHG) imaging is a minimally invasive optical microscopy technique capable of quantifying molecular conformational changes occurring below the diffraction limit. Up to now, such information is generally retrieved by exciting the sample with different linear polarizations. This procedure requires the sample to remain static during measurements (from a few second to minutes), preventing the use of PSHG microscopy from studying moving samples or molecular dynamics in living organisms. Here we demonstrate an imaging method that is one order of magnitude faster than conventional PSHG. Based on circular polarization excitation and instantaneous polarimetry analysis of the second harmonic signal generated in the tissue, the method is able to instantaneously obtain molecular information within a pixel dwell time. As a consequence, a single scan is only required to retrieve all the information. This allowed us to perform PSHG imaging in moving C. elegans, monitoring myosin's dynamics during the muscular contraction and relaxation. Since the method provides images of the molecular state, an unprecedented global understanding of the muscles dynamics is possible by correlating changes in different regions of the sample.

Determination of collagen fibril size via absolute measurements of second-harmonic generation signals

The quantification of collagen fibril size is a major issue for the investigation of pathological disorders associated with structural defects of the extracellular matrix. Second-harmonic generation microscopy is a powerful technique to characterize the macromolecular organization of collagen in unstained biological tissues. Nevertheless, due to the complex coherent building of this nonlinear optical signal, it has never been used to measure fibril diameter so far. Here we report absolute measurements of second-harmonic signals from isolated fibrils down to 30 nm diameter, via implementation of correlative second-harmonic-electron microscopy. Moreover, using analytical and numerical calculations, we demonstrate that the high sensitivity of this technique originates from the parallel alignment of collagen triple helices within fibrils and the subsequent constructive interferences of second-harmonic radiations. Finally, we use these absolute measurements as a calibration for ex vivo quantification of fibril diameter in the Descemet's membrane of a diabetic rat cornea.

Polarization-modulated second harmonic generation ellipsometric microscopy at video rate

Fast 8 MHz polarization modulation coupled with analytical modeling, fast beam-scanning, and synchronous digitization (SD) have enabled simultaneous nonlinear optical Stokes ellipsometry (NOSE) and polarized laser transmittance imaging with image acquisition rates up to video rate. In contrast to polarimetry, in which the polarization state of the exiting beam is recorded, NOSE enables recovery of the complex-valued Jones tensor of the sample that describes all polarization-dependent observables of the measurement. Every video-rate scan produces a set of 30 images (10 for each detector with three detectors operating in parallel), each of which corresponds to a different polarization-dependent result. Linear fitting of this image set contracts it down to a set of five parameters for each detector in second harmonic generation (SHG) and three parameters for the transmittance of the incident beam. These parameters can in turn be used to recover the Jones tensor elements of the sample. Following validation of the approach using z-cut quartz, NOSE microscopy was performed for microcrystals of both naproxen and glucose isomerase. When weighted by the measurement time, NOSE microscopy was found to provide a substantial (>7 decades) improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio relative to our previous measurements based on the rotation of optical elements and a 3-fold improvement relative to previous single-point NOSE approaches.

Molecular orientation sensitive second harmonic microscopy by radially and azimuthally polarized light

We demonstrate the possibility to switch the z-polarization component of the illumination in the vicinity of the focus of high-NA objective lenses by applying radially and azimuthally polarized incident light. The influence of the field distribution on nonlinear effects was first investigated by the means of simulations. These were performed for high-NA objective lenses commonly used in nonlinear microscopy. Special attention is paid to the influence of the polarization of the incoming field. For linearly, circularly and radially polarized light a considerable polarization component in z-direction is generated by high NA focusing. Azimuthal polarization is an exceptional case: even for strong focusing no z-component arises. Furthermore, the influence of the input polarization on the intensity contributing to the nonlinear signal generation was computed. No distinct difference between comparable input polarization states was found for chosen thresholds of nonlinear signal generation. Differences in signal generation for radially and azimuthally polarized vortex beams were experimentally evaluated in native collagen tissue (porcine cornea). The findings are in good agreement with the theoretical predictions and display the possibility to probe the molecular orientation along the optical axis of samples with known nonlinear properties. The combination of simulations regarding the nonlinear response of materials and experiments with different sample orientations and present or non present z-polarization could help to increase the understanding of nonlinear signal formation in yet unstudied materials.

Biomechanical characterization of keratoconus corneas ex vivo with Brillouin microscopy

PURPOSE

Loss of corneal strength is a central feature of keratoconus progression. However, it is currently difficult to measure corneal mechanical changes noninvasively. The objective of this study is to evaluate if Brillouin optical microscopy can differentiate the mechanical properties of keratoconic corneas versus healthy corneas ex vivo.

METHODS

We obtained eight tissue samples from healthy donor corneas used in Descemet's stripping endothelial keratoplasty (DSEK) and 10 advanced keratoconic corneas from patients undergoing deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK). Within 2 hours after surgery, a confocal Brillouin microscope using a monochromatic laser at 532 nm was used to map the Brillouin frequency shifts of the corneas.

RESULTS

The mean Brillouin shift in the anterior 200 μm of the keratoconic corneas at the cone was measured to be 7.99 ± 0.10 GHz, significantly lower than 8.17 ± 0.06 GHz of the healthy corneas (P < 0.001). The Brillouin shift in the keratoconic corneas decreased with depth from the anterior toward posterior regions with a steeper slope than in the healthy corneas (P < 0.001). Within keratoconic corneas, the Brillouin shift in regions away from the apex of the cone was significantly higher than within the cone region (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Brillouin measurements revealed notable differences between healthy and keratoconic corneas. Importantly, Brillouin imaging showed that the mechanical loss is primarily concentrated within the area of the keratoconic cone. Outside the cone, the Brillouin shift was comparable with that of healthy corneas. The results demonstrate the potential of Brillouin microscopy for diagnosis and treatment monitoring of keratoconus.

Cornea characterization using a combined multiphoton microscopy and optical coherence tomography system

We present a multimodal imaging system which combines multiphoton microscopy and optical coherence tomography to visualize the morphological structures, and to quantify the refractive index (RI) and thickness of cornea. The morphological similarities and differences at different corneal layers across various species are identified. In the piscine and human corneas, the stromata exhibit thin fibers that indicate an overall collagen direction. Human corneas display collagen micro-folds which cause increased light attenuation. In the murine, porcine and bovine corneas, the stromata show interwoven collagen patterns. The Bowman's layer and the Descemet's membrane are also distinguished in some species. The RI and thicknesses are quantified for the epithelium and the stromal layers respectively, where the epithelium is found to have slightly higher RI than the stroma. The average epithelial and stromal RI are, respectively, 1.371 ± 0.016 and 1.360 ± 0.008 for the murine corneas; 1.502 ± 0.057 and 1.335 ± 0.011 for the piscine corneas; 1.433 ± 0.023 and 1.357 ± 0.013 for the human corneas; 1.476 ± 0.091 and 1.343 ± 0.013 for the porcine corneas; and 1.400 ± 0.007 and 1.376 ± 0.003 for the bovine corneas. The multimodal system can potentially provide a comprehensive characterization of the cornea.

Motion-artifact-robust, polarization-resolved second-harmonic-generation microscopy based on rapid polarization switching with electro-optic Pockells cell and its application to in vivo visualization of collagen fiber orientation in human facial skin

Polarization-resolved second-harmonic-generation (PR-SHG) microscopy is a powerful tool for investigating collagen fiber orientation quantitatively with low invasiveness. However, the waiting time for the mechanical polarization rotation makes it too sensitive to motion artifacts and hence has hampered its use in various applications in vivo. In the work described in this article, we constructed a motion-artifact-robust, PR-SHG microscope based on rapid polarization switching at every pixel with an electro-optic Pockells cell (PC) in synchronization with step-wise raster scanning of the focus spot and alternate data acquisition of a vertical-polarization-resolved SHG signal and a horizontal-polarization-resolved one. The constructed PC-based PR-SHG microscope enabled us to visualize orientation mapping of dermal collagen fiber in human facial skin in vivo without the influence of motion artifacts. Furthermore, it implied the location and/or age dependence of the collagen fiber orientation in human facial skin. The robustness to motion artifacts in the collagen orientation measurement will expand the application scope of SHG microscopy in dermatology and collagen-related fields.

Accumulating advantages, reducing limitations: multimodal nonlinear imaging in biomedical sciences - the synergy of multiple contrast mechanisms

Multimodal nonlinear microscopy has matured during the past decades to one of the key imaging modalities in life science and biomedicine due to its unique capabilities of label-free visualization of tissue structure and chemical composition, high depth penetration, intrinsic 3D sectioning, diffraction limited resolution and low phototoxicity. This review briefly summarizes first recent advances in the field regarding the methodology, e.g., contrast mechanisms and signal characteristics used for contrast generation as well as novel image processing approaches. The second part deals with technologic developments emphasizing improvements in penetration depth, imaging speed, spatial resolution and nonlinear labeling strategies. The third part focuses on recent applications in life science fundamental research and biomedical diagnostics as well as future clinical applications.

Experimental study on the mechanical strain of corneal collagen

Currently, investigations of biomechanical properties of the fibrous tunic are becoming even more topical, especially for diagnosis of corneal ectatic disease, as well as correct interpretation of intraocular pressure (IOP) parameters, particularly in patients with prior surgery on cornea. The study principle is based on the ability of substances to change optical anisotropy depending on mechanical strain applied to them. An experimental set-up was constructed which allows assessment of polarization degree of light which is emitted during luminescence of strained collagen. The study was performed on 18 corneoscleral discs of chinchilla rabbit eyes at 15 and 50mm Hg pressure, among them in 6 cases before and after making radial incisions, and in 6 cases before and after conducting the mechanical cornea abrasions that were asymmetrical by depth until reaching the local zone of iatrogenic keratectasia. Corneal collagen mechanical strain mappings were formed on 3 experimental models (intact cornea, cornea post radial keratotomy and keratectasia) under intra-chamber pressure of 15 and 50mm Hg. Corneal collagen mechanical strain is evenly allocated in the intact cornea. After radial keratotomy the main mechanical loading was concentrated over the middle part of corneal periphery, particularly in the bottom of keratotomic incisions. The increased intra-chamber pressure made the strain rise in those models. Upon cornea abrasion the main straining is distributed within the thinning zone, and the increase of intra-chamber pressure only increases the load over residual stroma. A new principle of corneal biomechanical properties investigation based on assessment of degree of light polarization emitted during luminescence of strained collagen, has been proposed and experimentally tested.

Non-linear optical microscopy sheds light on cardiovascular disease

Many cardiac diseases have been associated with increased fibrosis and changes in the organization of fibrillar collagen. The degree of fibrosis is routinely analyzed with invasive histological and immunohistochemical methods, giving a limited and qualitative understanding of the tissue's morphological adaptation to disease. Our aim is to quantitatively evaluate the increase in fibrosis by three-dimensional imaging of the collagen network in the myocardium using the non-linear optical microscopy techniques Two-Photon Excitation microscopy (TPE) and Second Harmonic signal Generation (SHG). No sample staining is needed because numerous endogenous fluorophores are excited by a two-photon mechanism and highly non-centrosymmetric structures such as collagen generate strong second harmonic signals. We propose for the first time a 3D quantitative analysis to carefully evaluate the increased fibrosis in tissue from a rat model of heart failure post myocardial infarction. We show how to measure changes in fibrosis from the backward SHG (B_SHG) alone, as only backward-propagating SHG is accessible for true in vivo applications. A 5-fold increase in collagen I fibrosis is detected in the remote surviving myocardium measured 20 weeks after infarction. The spatial distribution is also shown to change markedly, providing insight into the morphology of disease progression.

Multimodal Highlighting of Structural Abnormalities in Diabetic Rat and Human Corneas

PURPOSE

This study aimed to highlight structural corneal changes in a model of type 2 diabetes, using in vivo corneal confocal microscopy (CCM). The abnormalities were also characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy in rat and human corneas.

METHODS

Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rats were observed at age 12 weeks (n = 3) and 1 year (n = 6), and compared to age-matched controls. After in vivo CCM examination, TEM and SHG microscopy were used to characterize the ultrastructure and the three-dimensional organization of the abnormalities. Human corneas from diabetic (n = 3) and nondiabetic (n = 3) patients were also included in the study.

RESULTS

In the basal epithelium of GK rats, CCM revealed focal hyper-reflective areas, and histology showed proliferative cells with irregular basement membrane. In the anterior stroma, extracellular matrix modifications were detected by CCM and confirmed in histology. In the Descemet's membrane periphery of all the diabetic corneas, hyper-reflective deposits were highlighted using CCM and characterized as long-spacing collagen fibrils by TEM. SHG microscopy revealed these deposits with high contrast, allowing specific detection in diabetic human and rat corneas without preparation and characterization of their three-dimensional organization.

CONCLUSION

Pathologic findings were observed early in the development of diabetes in GK rats. Similar abnormalities have been found in corneas from diabetic patients.

TRANSLATIONAL RELEVANCE

This multidisciplinary study highlights diabetes-induced corneal abnormalities in an animal model, but also in diabetic donors. This could constitute a potential early marker for diagnosis of hyperglycemia-induced tissue changes.

From molecular structure to tissue architecture: collagen organization probed by SHG microscopy

Second-harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy is a fantastic tool for imaging collagen and probing its hierarchical organization from molecular scale up to tissue architectural level. In fact, SHG combines the advantages of a non-linear microscopy approach with a coherent modality able to probe molecular organization. In this manuscript we review the physical concepts describing SHG from collagen, highlighting how this optical process allows to probe structures ranging from molecular sizes to tissue architecture, through image pattern analysis and scoring methods. Starting from the description of the most relevant approaches employing SHG polarization anisotropy and forward - backward SHG detection, we then focus on the most relevant methods for imaging and characterizing collagen organization in tissues through image pattern analysis methods, highlighting advantages and limitations of the methods applied to tissue imaging and to potential clinical applications.

Polarization-resolved second-harmonic generation microscopy as a method to visualize protein-crystal domains

Polarization-resolved second-harmonic generation (PR-SHG) microscopy is described and applied to identify the presence of multiple crystallographic domains within protein-crystal conglomerates, which was confirmed by synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Principal component analysis (PCA) of PR-SHG images resulted in principal component 2 (PC2) images with areas of contrasting negative and positive values for conglomerated crystals and PC2 images exhibiting uniformly positive or uniformly negative values for single crystals. Qualitative assessment of PC2 images allowed the identification of domains of different internal ordering within protein-crystal samples as well as differentiation between multi-domain conglomerated crystals and single crystals. PR-SHG assessments of crystalline domains were in good agreement with spatially resolved synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements. These results have implications for improving the productive throughput of protein structure determination through early identification of multi-domain crystals.

Polarization-resolved second-harmonic generation in tendon upon mechanical stretching

Collagen is a triple-helical protein that forms various macromolecular organizations in tissues and is responsible for the biomechanical and physical properties of most organs. Second-harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy is a valuable imaging technique to probe collagen fibrillar organization. In this article, we use a multiscale nonlinear optical formalism to bring theoretical evidence that anisotropy of polarization-resolved SHG mostly reflects the micrometer-scale disorder in the collagen fibril distribution. Our theoretical expectations are confirmed by experimental results in rat-tail tendon. To that end, we report what to our knowledge is the first experimental implementation of polarization-resolved SHG microscopy combined with mechanical assays, to simultaneously monitor the biomechanical response of rat-tail tendon at macroscopic scale and the rearrangement of collagen fibrils in this tissue at microscopic scale. These experiments bring direct evidence that tendon stretching corresponds to straightening and aligning of collagen fibrils within the fascicle. We observe a decrease in the SHG anisotropy parameter when the tendon is stretched in a physiological range, in agreement with our numerical simulations. Moreover, these experiments provide a unique measurement of the nonlinear optical response of aligned fibrils. Our data show an excellent agreement with recently published theoretical calculations of the collagen triple helix hyperpolarizability.

Hyperglycemia-induced abnormalities in rat and human corneas: the potential of second harmonic generation microscopy

BACKGROUND

Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) microscopy recently appeared as an efficient optical imaging technique to probe unstained collagen-rich tissues like cornea. Moreover, corneal remodeling occurs in many diseases and precise characterization requires overcoming the limitations of conventional techniques. In this work, we focus on diabetes, which affects hundreds of million people worldwide and most often leads to diabetic retinopathy, with no early diagnostic tool. This study then aims to establish the potential of SHG microscopy for in situ detection and characterization of hyperglycemia-induced abnormalities in the Descemet's membrane, in the posterior cornea.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

We studied corneas from age-matched control and Goto-Kakizaki rats, a spontaneous model of type 2 diabetes, and corneas from human donors with type 2 diabetes and without any diabetes. SHG imaging was compared to confocal microscopy, to histology characterization using conventional staining and transmitted light microscopy and to transmission electron microscopy. SHG imaging revealed collagen deposits in the Descemet's membrane of unstained corneas in a unique way compared to these gold standard techniques in ophthalmology. It provided background-free images of the three-dimensional interwoven distribution of the collagen deposits, with improved contrast compared to confocal microscopy. It also provided structural capability in intact corneas because of its high specificity to fibrillar collagen, with substantially larger field of view than transmission electron microscopy. Moreover, in vivo SHG imaging was demonstrated in Goto-Kakizaki rats.

CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE

Our study shows unambiguously the high potential of SHG microscopy for three-dimensional characterization of structural abnormalities in unstained corneas. Furthermore, our demonstration of in vivo SHG imaging opens the way to long-term dynamical studies. This method should be easily generalized to other structural remodeling of the cornea and SHG microscopy should prove to be invaluable for in vivo corneal pathological studies.

Effect of molecular organization on the image histograms of polarization SHG microscopy

Based on its polarization dependency, second harmonic generation (PSHG) microscopy has been proven capable to structurally characterize molecular architectures in different biological samples. By exploiting this polarization dependency of the SHG signal in every pixel of the image, average quantitative structural information can be retrieved in the form of PSHG image histograms. In the present study we experimentally show how the PSHG image histograms can be affected by the organization of the SHG active molecules. Our experimental scenario grounds on two inherent properties of starch granules. Firstly, we take advantage of the radial organization of amylopectin molecules (the SHG source in starch) to attribute shifts of the image histograms to the existence of tilted off the plane molecules. Secondly, we use the property of starch to organize upon hydration to demonstrate that the degree of structural order at the molecular level affects the width of the PSHG image histograms. The shorter the width is the more organized the molecules in the sample are, resulting in a reliable method to measure order. The implication of this finding is crucial to the interpretation of PSHG images used for example in tissue diagnostics.

In situ three-dimensional monitoring of collagen fibrillogenesis using SHG microscopy

We implemented in situ time-lapse Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) microscopy to monitor the three-dimensional (3D) self-assembly of collagen in solution. As a proof of concept, we tuned the kinetics of fibril formation by varying the pH and measured the subsequent exponential increase of fibril volume density in SHG images. We obtained significantly different time constants at pH = 6.5 ± 0.3 and at pH = 7.5 ± 0.3. Moreover, we showed that we could focus on the growth of a single isolated collagen fibril because SHG microscopy is sensitive to well-organized fibrils with diameter below the optical resolution. This work illustrates the potential of SHG microscopy for the rational design and characterization of collagen-based biomaterials.