Application of Euclidean Distance Mapping for Assessment of Basement Membrane Thickness Distribution in Asthma

Abnormal thickening of the airway basement membrane is one of the hallmarks of airway remodeling in asthma. Current protocols for measuring the basement membrane involve the use of stained tissue sections and measurements of the basement membrane thickness at certain intervals, followed by the calculation of the geometric mean thickness for each airway. This report describes an automated, unbiased approach which uses colour segmentation to identify structures of interest on stained sections and euclidean distance mapping to measure the thickness distribution of airway structures. This method was applied to study the thickness distribution of the basement membrane and airway epithelium in lungs donated for research from, age and sex matched 7 non-asthmatic and 8 asthmatic donors. A total of 60 airways were assessed. We report that the thickness and thickness variance of the basement membrane and airway epithelium are increased in large and small airways of asthmatics compared to non-asthmatics. Thus, using this method we are able to demonstrate the heterogeneity in the thickness of the basement membrane and airway epithelium within individual airways of asthmatic subjects. This new computational method enables comprehensive and objective quantification of airway structures, which can be used to quantify heterogeneity of airway remodeling in obstructive lung diseases such asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

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