Polarized Light Microscopy for Quantitative Assessment of Sarcomere-Scale Structural Order in Cardiac Tissue.
G, P., A, V., Z, S., K, U., M, O., E, K., A, E., N, K., V, G., & V, S. (2026). Polarized Light Microscopy for Quantitative Assessment of Sarcomere-Scale Structural Order in Cardiac Tissue.. Journal of biophotonics. https://doi.org/10.1002/jbio.70338
G P, A V, Z S, K U, M O, E K, et al. Polarized Light Microscopy for Quantitative Assessment of Sarcomere-Scale Structural Order in Cardiac Tissue.. Journal of biophotonics. 2026; doi: 10.1002/jbio.70338
G P, A V, Z S, et al. Polarized Light Microscopy for Quantitative Assessment of Sarcomere-Scale Structural Order in Cardiac Tissue.[J]. Journal of biophotonics. 2026. DOI: 10.1002/jbio.70338.
@article{g2026,
author = {Piavchenko G and Venediktov A and Shamitko Z and Urazova K and Obelchakova M and Khabarova E and Ershov A and Kartashkina N and Grikh V and Smirnov V},
title = {Polarized Light Microscopy for Quantitative Assessment of Sarcomere-Scale Structural Order in Cardiac Tissue.},
journal = {Journal of biophotonics},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.1002/jbio.70338},
note = {PMID: 42575126},
}
TY - JOUR AU - Piavchenko G AU - Venediktov A AU - Shamitko Z AU - Urazova K AU - Obelchakova M AU - Khabarova E AU - Ershov A AU - Kartashkina N AU - Grikh V AU - Smirnov V TI - Polarized Light Microscopy for Quantitative Assessment of Sarcomere-Scale Structural Order in Cardiac Tissue. T2 - Journal of biophotonics PY - 2026 DO - 10.1002/jbio.70338 AN - PMID:42575126 ER -
Polarization-resolved imaging provides a powerful, label-free means of visualizing anisotropic structural order in biological tissue, yet its quantitative exploitation remains limited in routine microscopy. Here, we present a polarization-resolved imaging approach based on polarized light microscopy (PLM) that enables automated, quantitative extraction of sarcomere-scale structural metrics from unstained cardiac tissue sections. Using experimental rat models of acute cardiorespiratory arrest as controlled test systems, we demonstrate that polarization-derived intensity profiles encode reproducible information on sarcomere length and band composition, with distinct patterns of structural compression observed across experimental conditions. Image-derived measurements were validated against conventional histological and immunohistochemical staining, highlighting the complementary value of polarization contrast for rapid, staining-free assessment of tissue anisotropy. Rather than addressing diagnostic specificity, this proof-of-concept study establishes PLM as a scalable quantitative imaging modality for polarization-resolved analysis of hierarchical structural order in biological tissue, with potential integration into multimodal imaging workflows in biomedical research.