Automated Cell Tracking and Analysis in Phase-Contrast Videos (iTrack4U) Development of Java Software Based on Combined Mean-Shift Processes.docVIP

Automated Cell Tracking and Analysis in Phase-Contrast Videos (iTrack4U): Development of Java Software Based on Combined Mean-Shift Processes , Olivier Debeir , Véronique Letort , Stuart J. Fabrice P. Cordelières1?, Valérie Petit2?, Mayuko Kumasaka2 3 4 Gallagher , Lionel Larue 2 2* 1 Institut Curie, CNRS UMR3348, plate-forme IBISA dimagerie cellulaire et tissulaire, Orsay, France, 2 Institut Curie, CNRS UMR3347, INSERM U1021, Normal and Pathological Development of Melanocytes, Orsay, France, 3 Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Laboratory of Image Synthesis and Analysis (LISA), Faculty of Applied Sciences, Brussels, Belgium, 4 Ecole Centrale Paris, Laboratory of Applied Mathematics, Chatenay-Malabry, France Abstract Cell migration is a key biological process with a role in both physiological and pathological conditions. Locomotion of cells during embryonic development is essential for their correct positioning in the organism; immune cells have to migrate and circulate in response to injury. Failure of cells to migrate or an inappropriate acquisition of migratory capacities can result in severe defects such as altered pigmentation, skull and limb abnormalities during development, and defective wound repair, immunosuppression or tumor dissemination. The ability to accurately analyze and quantify cell migration is important for our understanding of development, homeostasis and disease. In vitro cell tracking experiments, using primary or established cell cultures, are often used to study migration as cells can quickly and easily be genetically or chemically manipulated. Images of the cells are acquired at regular time intervals over several hours using microscopes equipped with CCD camera. The locations (x,y,t) of each cell on the recorded seque