On identifying information from image-based spatial polarity phenotypes in neutrophils

Cell polarity is involved in many biological functions such as development, wound healing and immune responses. In human neutrophils, polarization is characterized by the translocation of distinct sets of signaling molecules to opposite ends of the cell and the rapid rearrangement of cytoskeleton to initiate migration. While many image-based studies have described cellular morphology and the intensity level of polarity signaling molecules, systematic characterization of the spatial distribution of polarity signaling molecules has been lacking. Here we designed a collection of analytical features to quantify spatial phenotypes of polarity molecules. We compared our features to commonly used polarity readouts and found that they captured additional aspects of the polarization dynamics that were not contained in the existing features. Our work provides a starting point to identify informative features for the study of neutrophil polarization.