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From the Institutes of Pathology,
*
Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark; and the Institute of Pathology,
P. Stradins Clinical University Hospital, Riga, Latvia
| Abstract |
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| Introduction |
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The aim of this study was to develop reliable protocols for performing IHC and ISH on membrane-mounted paraffin sections before LMM. As a model, we stained head and neck carcinomas, including cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) using labels specific for epithelial markers and for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) to identify tumor islands. We removed these cells using microdissection, and we tested their suitability for performing subsequent polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis.
| Materials and Methods |
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Sectioning, Immunohistochemistry, and in Situ
Hybridization
Polyethylene membranes (1.5 µm; SL-Microtest, Jena, Germany)
were cut to size and mounted on non-charged Superfrost Color glass
slides (Menzel-Glaser, Germany). To ensure wrinkle-free application,
the glass slide was first dipped in 70% alcohol after which the
pre-cut membrane was applied to the wet glass with help of a paper
support. The paper was then removed and the membrane attached using
Fixo gum rubber cement (SL-Microtest) along two opposing edges. Slides
were sterilized in UV light overnight. Slides for IHC and ISH staining
were treated with 8% and 2% 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APES)
solution in acetone, respectively. Serial 5-µm paraffin sections were
cut with a fresh knife, mounted on prepared slides, and incubated at
60° C for 2 hours to achieve better tissue adhesion to the membrane.
Deparaffinization was carried out by prolonged incubation in xylene
(4 x 7 minutes), followed by prolonged washing and rehydration in
ethanol (99.9% ethanol 4 x 5 minutes, 96% ethanol 2 x 5
minutes, 70% ethanol 5 minutes). For IHC, antigen retrieval was
achieved with HIER at low temperature (60° C) in TEG buffer
(Tris-EGTA buffer, pH 9.0). Retrieval times of 12, 16, 24, and 48 hours
were tested and optimized according to the antigen of interest. Primary
mouse monoclonal antibodies to pancytokeratins (AE1/AE3, Roche A/S,
Hvidovre, Denmark and KL1, Serotec, Oxford, UK), high molecular weight
cytokeratin (CK-H; 34ßBE12, DAKO A/S, Glostrup, Denmark) and
Epstein-Barr virus latent membrane protein LMP-1 (CS-1, DAKO A/S) were
used for staining. Sections were stained with the avidin-biotin complex
method (Vectastain ABC universal kit, Vector Laboratories, Inc.,
Burlingame, CA), according to the manufacturer. Briefly, slides were
blocked with horse serum (5 minutes), incubated in a humid chamber for
60 minutes with primary antibody (AE13 1:250, CK-H 1:100, KL1 1:100,
CS 14 1:2000), and for 30 minutes each with biotinylated secondary
antibody and avidin-biotinylated horseradish peroxidase complex (ABC).
Endogenous peroxidase activity was blocked by 0.5% hydrogen peroxide
(H2O2) in methanol for 10
minutes. Gentle intervening washing was carried out using TBS buffer
(pH 7.6, 3 x 3 minutes) without shaking, and excess fluid was
removed with a sterile gauze, care being taken not to touch the tissue
sections. Color development was obtained with
3,3-diaminobenzidine-tetrahydrochloride (DAB, Kem-En-Tec A/S,
Copenhagen, Denmark) for 10 minutes. Sections were counterstained in
hematoxylin for 3 minutes, washed for 4 minutes in tap water, and dried
in ethanol.
For CS 14 staining, avidin-biotin blocking was performed according to the manufacturer (DAKO Biotin Blocking System, DAKO A/S) to minimize background staining. Immunohistological signals were amplified by catalyzed reporter molecule deposition (CARD) with biotinylated tyramine.9 Biotinylated tyramine was produced as described by Adams.9 In brief, 31.2 mg tyramine hydrochloride (Sigma, St. Louis, MO) was dissolved in 40 ml of 50 mmol/L borate buffer (pH 8.0) containing 100 mg sulfo-NHS-LC-Biotin (Pierce, Rockford, IL), agitated overnight at room temperature, filtered through a 0.45-µm filter and stored as frozen aliquots. CARD amplification was performed by incubating the ABC-stained sections in biotinylated tyramine diluted 1:500 in 50 mmol/L Tris (pH 7.6) containing 0.03% H2O2 for 10 minutes. Following washing, sections were incubated in ABC for 30 minutes, washed, and developed in DAB.
For each stain, two sets of sections mounted directly on glass slides were processed in parallel as controls of the procedure. HIER was performed using a domestic microwave (3 x 5 minutes at maximum power) or a hot air oven (60°C), respectively.
For ISH, EBV-encoded small RNAs (EBER 1 and 2) were detected using an in house, digoxigenin-labeled, PCR generated single-stranded DNA probe (Zhou et al, submitted). Following deparaffinization, the tissue sections were transferred to TBS-DEPC (Tris-buffer, 0.1% diethylpyrocarbonate, pH 7.6) and incubated at room temperature for 12 hours to wash out excess APES. Sections were treated with proteinase K (DAKO S3004 40 µl/ml) and refixed in 0.4% paraformaldehyde in 0.1% DEPC. Twenty µl of probe was applied to each section, distributed evenly using a cover glass and slides were incubated in a humid chamber for 90 minutes at 55°C. The probe was visualized by immunostaining using anti-digoxigenin 1:20000 (D122, Sigma-Aldrich Chemie) as the primary antibody and ABC as described.
Microdissection and Polymerase Chain Reaction
Microdissection of the membrane-mounted sections was performed
with a high-resolution nitrogen UV-laser (SL-Microtest) at 337 nm. The
dissected cells were captured using a microscope-mounted sterile
31gauge needle (Becton Dickinson, Heidelberg, Germany). Completeness of
cutting and target removal were controlled visually. Approximately 1000
cells were cut after being identified by AE13, CK-H, CS 14, or
EBER12, and for each stain the procedure was repeated three times in
each case. The tip of the needle and the attached tissue fragment and
membrane were broken off into a 0.2 ml MicroAmp tube (PE Biosystems,
Foster City, CA) containing 25 µl of 0.28 mg/ml proteinase K
solution, incubated for 3 hours at 55°C, and inactivated at 95°C
for 10 minutes. PCR was performed on a PTC 200 Thermocycler (MJ
Research, Waltham, MA) with a reaction mixture containing 5 µl of
template, 0.2 mM of each dNTP, 500 pmol of each primer, 1 U Biolase
Diamond (Bioline, London, UK), 2 µl of 10X PCR buffer (Bioline), 1
mmol/L MgCl2, 1 mM cresol red (60% sucrose)
loading buffer and distilled water up to 20 µl. Analysis of the
housekeeping gene nucleophosmine (NPM, 194 bp,10
) was used
to verify the quality of DNA with primers 5'-tcccttgggggctttgaaataacacc
and 3'-gctaccacctccaggggcaga. The PCR program consisted of 3 cycles of
95°C for 90 seconds, 55°C for 60 seconds, and 74°C for 120
seconds followed by additional 37 cycles of 95°C for 90 seconds,
50°C for 60 seconds, and 74°C for 120 seconds. A final extension
step was carried out at 72°C for 10 minutes. EBV genome detection and
subtyping was done by PCR with primers specific for EBV nuclear
antigen-3C (EBNA-3C,11
); (5'-agaaggggagcgtgtgttgt and
3'-cggctgcagtttttgctcgg. EBV type 1 gave a PCR 153-bp PCR product and
EBV type 2 resulted in a 246-bp product. The PCR program consisted of
37 cycles of 94°C for 60 seconds, 56°C for 120 seconds, 72°C for
120 seconds, and extension at 72°C for 10 minutes. DNA from whole,
unstained sections from NPC were included in each PCR run as positive
control. A nude area of the membrane adjacent to the stained tissue, a
cut sterile membrane, and whole tissue sections of the EBV negative
clear cell sarcoma were used as negative controls in each experiment.
Amplified products were separated electrophoretically on a 2% agarose
gel stained with ethidium bromide.
The quality of morphology during microdissection was systematically
examined, using a series of approaches with, either hematoxylin, IHC or
ISH stain with or without an optical medium (xylene, 99% and 70%
ethanol, Cytotec (Schuco International, London, UK) or distilled water)
applied with a sprayer. The following parameters were
semiquantitatively evaluated as defined in Table 1
: morphology (03), ease of cutting (02), ease of transfer (02).
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| Results |
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Low Temperature HIER for Immunohistochemistry
Prolonged incubation of sections in a high pH buffer (TEG pH 9) at
60°C in a hot air oven gave strong, sensitive immunostaining with low
background, comparable to or even better than that in control sections
stained with standard microwave high temperature HIER. With this
modification, membrane loss and section detachment were not a problem.
Optimal retrieval times for detecting different antigens varied.
Incubation for 24 hours gave strong staining of all carcinomas for
cytokeratins (with AE1/AE3, CK-H, KL 1)(Figure 1)
. Antigen retrieval for 16 hours or less gave unacceptably weak
staining, which could not be improved by increasing the concentration
of primary antibody or prolonging incubation (up to 2 hours). Optimal
epitope retrieval for LMP-1 was 48 hours (Figure 1)
, after which strong
EBV positivity was detected in the four viral positive NPC cases.
Staining of membrane-mounted sections was successfully performed using
CARD with biotinylated tyramine to amplify signals without increasing
background and without causing problems of section detachment. While
standard CS 14 staining was weak, CARD amplification gave intense,
specific reactions.
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Optimization of Morphology
A variety of liquid media were tested on routine, IHC and ISH
stained sections to optimize visualization of NPC targets before
microdissection. The influence of these media on laser cutting and
subsequent transfer of target fragments was also assessed. The results
are shown in Table 1
. Both IHC and ISH staining gave sufficient
contrast to allow clear discrimination between tumor complexes and the
surrounding tissue. This could be further improved using various
optical media, although this was not essential for adequate
microdissection. With standard hematoxylin staining, contrast was poor
and use of an additional liquid medium was necessary. For this purpose,
the alcohol-based media were adequate but xylene gave the best results
(Figure 1)
. For single cell microdissection, cell borders could be
precisely identified by combining either IHC or ISH with an optical
medium. Xylene gave a slightly reduced efficiency of cutting compared
with both 99% alcohol and Cytotec, the latter being easier to apply
(Tone Bjoernsen, unpublished data). In some experiments, use of 70%
ethanol interfered with the removal of the microdissected fragments.
Excess fluids made cutting difficult; this problem was solved by
applying the media as a light spray. This had an additional advantage
that laser cutting could be performed immediately after applying the
medium, without having to wait for the fluid to evaporate.
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Microdissected tissue fragments could be consistently used in
standard PCR reactions. Strong bands were seen for viral gene EBNA-3C
and weaker bands for housekeeping gene NPM, after 37 and 40 cycles,
respectively (Figure 2)
. The difference in signal intensity can be explained by the relatively
high number of EBV genomes in each tumor cell compared with the
reported low copy number of NPM in each cell. Although various routine
and IHC tissue section stains are known to interfere with the
efficiency of subsequent PCR,13
this did not adversely
affect our PCR analysis. Similarly, the various optical media used did
not interfere with the PCR reactions.
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| Discussion |
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Staining markedly improved visualization of cellular targets and
compensated for the inferior morphology that results from not using
either coverslips or mounting medium during LMM. This improvement was
sufficient for precise microdissection of cell groups and larger tissue
fragments (Figure 1)
. Visualization could be further improved by
applying various liquid media to sections before target selection to
reduce scattering of light passing through tissue sections (Table 1)
.
Volatile media were convenient for this purpose applied as a spray.
Although xylene gave better morphology overall (Figure 1)
,
alcohol-based optical media were almost as good. The latter had the
advantage that they gave somewhat better cutting efficiency. In our
experiments, the alcohol-based fluid Cytotec was the best all-round
optical medium. Use of such a medium was essential for accurate target
selection using standard hematoxylin sections without IHC or ISH
staining. It was also important in combination with IHC or ISH to give
optimal definition of individual cell borders, a necessity when
performing single-cell microdissection. Xylene was the best medium for
this purpose.
The methods we describe here significantly improve identification of targets for microdissection, thus increasing the efficiency and reliability of cell sampling. Since they are for use on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections they can be widely applied to study archival material.
| Acknowledgments |
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| Footnotes |
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Supported by Aarhus University Research Foundation; King
Christian Xs Foundation; Eva and Henry Frænels Foundation; the Leo
Foundation; the Novo Nordisk Foundation; Else and Mogens
Wedell-Wedellsborg Foundation; Einar Willumsen Memorial Foundation; Max
and Inger W
rzners Memorial Foundation.
Accepted for publication May 25, 2001.
| References |
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