Development of an Accessible, High-Precision Histology Procurement System

Project Summary Tissues contain multiple cell typesnervevasculatureepitheliumfibroblaststhat enable their specialized physiological functionsQuantitative molecular analysis of cells from histological slides is useful in developing a deeper understanding of fundamental pathophysiology and in generating effective clinical interventionsSeveral strategies were developed in the past to more precisely recover cells from heterogeneous tissue sectionsincluding manual razor scrapesmicromanipulatorsand laser microdissection technologiesLaser dissection in particular has become an effective and established methodwith several companies now offering high level instrumentation and accompanying microgenomics assaysHoweverlaser dissection instruments alone are not sufficient to fully meet the needs of the molecular pathology and biology fieldsWe recently invented a micropurification technology that can recover specific cells or subcellular structures from histology slides within minutes and with extreme precisionIf successfully optimized and validatedthe invention will expand the repertoire of tools available to the researchmolecular pathology and oncology communitiesand enable experiments requiring a level of precision that no current technology can accomplishThe two specific aims areAimOptimization of Cell and Nuclear EnrichmentAimAdvancement of mRNA and miRNA AnalysesProject Narrative We recently invented a micropurification technology with the potential to recover specific cells or subcellular structures from histology slides within minutes and with extreme precisionIf successfully optimized and validatedthe invention will expand the repertoire of tools available to the researchmolecular pathology and oncology communitiesand enable experiments requiring a level of precision that no current technology can accomplish