Adjusting interphase FISH results in epithelial tissue sections to whole cell complement.
OBJECTIVE
To derive an equation to compensate for the discrepancies between whole cell preparations and tissue sections for more accurate enumeration of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) signals per cell.


METHODS
Mean centromere signal counts in touch preparations and corresponding 4-6-micron sections of paraffin-embedded tissue were calculated. Mean widest nuclear diameters were also determined from the tissue sections. The observed data were analyzed to define the volumetric relationships between tissue sections and whole cell preparations.


RESULTS
Analysis of results from six lung specimens yielded an equation that approximates whole versus sectioned nuclear volume and permits accurate quantification of mean FISH signal count in histologic sections, as follows: [formula: see text].
Berezuk
M
M
Departments of Pathology and Medicine, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, 4200 East Ninth Avenue, Campus Box B216, Denver, Colorado 80262, USA.
West
J
J
Varella-Garcia
M
M
Franklin
W A
WA
D002277:Carcinoma / Q000473:pathology*; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D048429:Cell Size; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D007399:Interphase; D008168:Lung / Q000166:cytology*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D011003:Ploidies
D004273:DNA, Neoplasm