title: Preparation of High-quality Hematoxylin and Eosin-stained Sections from Rodent Mammary Gland Whole Mounts for Histopathologic Review.
abstract: Identifying environmental exposures that cause adverse mammary gland outcomes in rodents is a first step in disease prevention in humans and domestic pets. "Whole mounts" are an easy and inexpensive tissue preparation method that can elucidate typical or abnormal mammary gland morphology in rodent studies. Here, we propose procedures to facilitate the use of whole mounts for histological identification of grossly noted tissue alterations. We noted lesions in mammary whole mounts from 14-month-old CD-1 mice that were not found in the contralateral gland hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained section. Whole mounts were removed from the slide and carefully processed to produce high-quality histological sections that mirrored the quality of the original H&E-stained section in order to properly diagnose the unidentified gross abnormalities. Incorporation of this method into testing protocols that focus on human relevant chemical and endocrine disruptors exposure will increase the chances of identifying lesions in the gland and reduce the risk of false negative findings. This method can be especially invaluable when lesions are not always palpable during the course of the study or visible at necropsy, or when a single cross section of the mammary gland is otherwise used for detecting lesions.
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Curriculum in Toxicology, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA Division of the National Toxicology Program (DNTP), NTP Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health and Science, National Institute of Health, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Deirdre K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Tucker
authors.affiliation: Division of the National Toxicology Program, Cellular and Molecular Pathology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health and Science, National Institute of Health, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Julie F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Foley
authors.affiliation: Charles River Laboratories Inc., Durham, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Schantel A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Hayes-Bouknight
authors.affiliation: Division of the National Toxicology Program (DNTP), NTP Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health and Science, National Institute of Health, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA fentonse@niehs.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Suzanne E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Fenton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004801:Eosine Yellowish-(YS); D005260:Female; D006416:Hematoxylin; D016591:Histocytological Preparation Techniques; D008321:Mammary Glands, Animal / Q000473:pathology*; D051379:Mice
chemical_list: D004801:Eosine Yellowish-(YS); D006416:Hematoxylin
keywords: breast; contralateral; development; mammary gland; pathology; whole mount