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Overview
Research associate in charge: Lijia Yin, MD, CLS/H, LSMB (lyin@lsuhsc.edu)
Faculty member in charge: Dr. Mike Mathias (jmathi@lsuhsc.edu)
Laser Capture Microdissection
Major scientific and medical
advances are transforming the field of translational laboratory research.
Developments in gene sequencing and amplification techniques, among others, now
allow investigators to extract DNA or RNA from tissue biopsies and cytological
smears for pinpoint molecular analysis. The efficacy of these sophisticated
genetic testing methods, however, depends on the purity and precision of the
cell populations being analyzed. Simply homogenizing the biopsy sample results
in an impure combination of healthy and diseased tissue. Using mechanical tools
to manually separate cells of interest from the histologic section is
time-consuming and extremely labor-intensive. None of these methods offers the
ease, precision and efficiency necessary for modem molecular diagnosis. A new
method, Laser Capture Microdissection (LCM), provides research and pathology
laboratories with the ideal microdissection technology. LCM was conceived and
first developed as a prototype research tool at the National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of
the NIH. LCM is being used in the Cancer Genome Anatomy Program (CGAP) to
catalog the development of cells from normal to diseased state. It can be
applied to any disease process, which is accessible through tissue sampling,
such as premalignant cancer lesions, multiple sclerosis, arteriosclerosis, and
Alzheimer's disease. Research applications include: genomics (differential gene
profiling, loss of heterozygosity, micro satellite instability, and gene
quantification) and proteomics (two-dimensional protein gels, western blotting,
and immuno-quantification of proteins). The PixCell II instrument performs
Laser Capture Microdissection from heterogeneous tissue samples simply, quickly
and precisely. In minutes, the investigator can locate a single cell or large
groups of cells and, using a simple aim and-shoot method, extract them for
subsequent molecular analysis. LCM preserves the exact morphologies of both the
captured cells, as well as the surrounding tissue. The PixCell II transfers
cells from paraffin-embedded and frozen tissue samples, as well as stained and
immunolabelled slides. The entire process can be monitored and documented, and
the images can be stored in an archiving workstation. Microdissection of
fluorescently-stained cells is also possible with a fluorescence package that
has been purchased.