Disordered Glass Nanowire Substrates Produce in Vivo-Like Astrocyte Morphology Revealed by Low-Coherence Holotomography.

ABSTRACT: Astrocytes are essential for preserving homeostasis of the central nervous system (CNS). They regulate synaptic activity and interact with the extracellular milieu via their distinctive, star-like morphology. However, there is a lack of detailed understanding of astrocyte morphology, particularly of the in vivo phenotype that is difficult to replicate in vitro and quantify using conventional imaging techniques without exogenous labels. This study marks the first demonstration of low-coherence holotomography (LC-HT), a label-free imaging technique, for 3D quantitative assessment of astrocyte morphology cultured on nanostructured substrates, which typically presents challenges for phase-based imaging. Crucially, it is shown that disordered glass nanowire (NW) substrates can induce in vivo-li

SUBMITTER: Anantha P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12806367 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature