TY - JOUR
T1 - Tissue microarrays
T2 - Applications in neuropathology research, diagnosis, and education
AU - Wang, Huamin
AU - Wang, Hua
AU - Zhang, Wei
AU - Fuller, Gregory N.
PY - 2002
Y1 - 2002
N2 - Tissue microarrays (TMAs) are composite paraffin blocks constructed by extracting cylindrical tissue core "biopsies" from different paraffin donor blocks and re-embedding these into a single recipient (microarray) block at defined array coordinates. Using this technique, up to 1000 or more tissue samples can be composited into a single paraffin block. Tissue microarrays permit high-volume simultaneous analysis of molecular targets at the DNA, mRNA, and protein levels under identical, standardized conditions on a single glass slide, and also provide maximal preservation and utilization of limited and irreplaceable archival tissue samples. This versatile technique facilitates retrospective and prospective human tissue studies, animal tissue studies, and cell line cytospin cell block studies. In this review, we present the technical aspects of TMA construction and sectioning, validation aspects of the technique, TMA advantages and limitations, and a sampling of the broad range of TMA uses in modern neuropathologic clinical diagnosis, research, and education. A specific illustration of the most widely employed and increasingly important TMA application is also presented: confirmation via TMA-based immunohistochemistry of the differential expression of a marker (IGFBP2) initially identified by gene expression profiling to be overexpressed in glioblastoma.
AB - Tissue microarrays (TMAs) are composite paraffin blocks constructed by extracting cylindrical tissue core "biopsies" from different paraffin donor blocks and re-embedding these into a single recipient (microarray) block at defined array coordinates. Using this technique, up to 1000 or more tissue samples can be composited into a single paraffin block. Tissue microarrays permit high-volume simultaneous analysis of molecular targets at the DNA, mRNA, and protein levels under identical, standardized conditions on a single glass slide, and also provide maximal preservation and utilization of limited and irreplaceable archival tissue samples. This versatile technique facilitates retrospective and prospective human tissue studies, animal tissue studies, and cell line cytospin cell block studies. In this review, we present the technical aspects of TMA construction and sectioning, validation aspects of the technique, TMA advantages and limitations, and a sampling of the broad range of TMA uses in modern neuropathologic clinical diagnosis, research, and education. A specific illustration of the most widely employed and increasingly important TMA application is also presented: confirmation via TMA-based immunohistochemistry of the differential expression of a marker (IGFBP2) initially identified by gene expression profiling to be overexpressed in glioblastoma.
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U2 - 10.1111/j.1750-3639.2002.tb00426.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1750-3639.2002.tb00426.x
M3 - Article
C2 - 11770905
AN - SCOPUS:0036133116
SN - 1015-6305
VL - 12
SP - 95
EP - 107
JO - Brain Pathology
JF - Brain Pathology
IS - 1
ER -