title: Assessing the application of tissue microarray technology to kidney research.
abstract: Tissue microarray (TMA) is a new high-throughput method that enables simultaneous analysis of the profiles of protein expression in multiple tissue samples. TMA technology has not previously been adapted for physiological and pathophysiological studies of rodent kidneys. We have evaluated the validity and reliability of using TMA to assess protein expression in mouse and rat kidneys. A representative TMA block that we have produced included: (1) mouse and rat kidney cortex, outer medulla, and inner medulla fixed with different fixatives; (2) rat kidneys at different stages of development fixed with different fixatives; (3) mouse and rat kidneys with different physiological or pathophysiological treatments; and (4) built-in controls. As examples of the utility, immunostaining for cyclooxygenase-2, renin, Tamm Horsfall protein, aquaporin-2, connective tissue growth factor, and synaptopodin was carried out with kidney TMA slides. Quantitative analysis of cyclooxygense-2 expression in kidneys confirms that individual cores provide meaningful representations comparable to whole-kidney sections. These studies show that kidney TMA technique is a promising and useful tool for investigating the expression profiles of proteins of interest in rodent kidneys under different physiological and pathophysiological conditions.
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt O'Brien Center, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. ming-zhi.zhang@vanderbilt.edu
authors.forename: Ming-Zhi
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yinghao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Decaestecker
authors.forename: Raymond C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Harris
mesh_terms: D047228:Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockers / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D051399:Aquaporin 2 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D055513:Connective Tissue Growth Factor / Q000096:biosynthesis; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D005404:Fixatives; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007668:Kidney / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D009088:Mucoproteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D051381:Rats; D012083:Renin / Q000096:biosynthesis; D046888:Tissue Array Analysis; D016707:Tissue Fixation; D058949:Uromodulin
chemical_list: D047228:Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockers; D051399:Aquaporin 2; C526318:CCN2 protein, mouse; D005404:Fixatives; D009088:Mucoproteins; C548613:Umod protein, mouse; C548614:Umod protein, rat; D058949:Uromodulin; D055513:Connective Tissue Growth Factor; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; D012083:Renin