Dna Flow Cytometry of Breast Carcinoma After Acetic-Acid Fixation

ABSTRACT Aqueous acetic acid was used to fix and store specimens of tissue prior to dissociation into nuclear suspensions for flow cytometric quantitation of DNA. the optimum concentration was 20 volumes of glacial acetic acid in 80 volumes of distilled water. Both neoplastic and benign nuclei were easily released from the fixed tissue blocks by slicing and shaking. Residual undissociated tissue was suitable for microscopic examination to confirm its identity. the nuclei fluoresced brightly after staining with propidium iodide, and yielded histograms similar to those from unfixed samples. Acetic-acid fixation resulted in slightly broader G₁ and G₀ peaks in the DNA histograms in comparison to unfixed cells, but fluorescent debris was less and correlation between the flow cytometric S-phase fraction (SPF) and in vitro thymidine labelling index (TLI) was better than with unfixed cells. Twenty-one of thirty-nine acetic-acid-fixed breast carcinomas had DNA indices in excess of 1.0 (increased nuclear DNA content in comparison to benign cells), and eighteen had DNA indices of 1.0 (normal or near-normal). the SPF was usually in excess of the TLI, but the two were significantly correlated (r= 0.72, P>0.0001). However, a significant correlation of SPF with TLI held only for the group with DNA index < 1.0. DNA indices < 1.0 were associated with high SPF and TLI, and high SPF and TLI each associated with low content of estrogen receptor.     

A Fluorescent Gram Stain for Flow Cytometry and Epifluorescence Microscopy

The fluorescent nucleic acid binding dyes hexidium iodide (HI) and SYTO 13 were used in combination as a Gram stain for unfixed organisms in suspension. HI penetrated gram-positive but not gram-negative organisms, whereas SYTO 13 penetrated both. When the dyes were used together, gram-negative organisms were rendered green fluorescent by SYTO 13; conversely, gram-positive organisms were rendered red-orange fluorescent by HI, which simultaneously quenched SYTO 13 green fluorescence. The technique correctly predicted the Gram status of 45 strains of clinically relevant organisms, including several known to be gram variable. In addition, representative strains of gram-positive anaerobic organisms, normally decolorized during the traditional Gram stain procedure, were classified correctly by this method.Gram’s staining method is considered fundamental in bacterial taxonomy. The outcome of the Gram reaction reflects major differences in the chemical composition and ultrastructure of bacterial cell walls. The Gram stain involves staining a heat-fixed smear of cells with a rosaniline dye such as crystal or methyl violet in the presence of iodine, with subsequent exposure to alcohol or acetone. Organisms that are decolorized by the alcohol or acetone are designated gram negative.Alternative Gram staining techniques have recently been proposed. Sizemore et al. (19) reported on the use of fluorescently labeled wheat germ agglutinin. This lectin binds specifically to N-acetylglucosamine in the peptidoglycan layer of gram-positive bacteria, whereas gram-negative organisms contain an outer membrane that prevents lectin binding. Although simpler and faster than the traditional Gram stain, this method requires heat fixation of organisms.Other Gram stain techniques suitable for live bacteria in suspension have been described. Allman et al. (1) demonstrated that rhodamine 123 (a lipophilic cationic dye) rendered gram-positive bacteria fluorescent, but its uptake by gram-negative organisms was poor. This reduced uptake by gram-negative bacteria was attributed to their outer membranes. The outer membrane can be made more permeable to lipophilic cations by exposure to the chelator EDTA (4). Shapiro (18) took advantage of this fact to form the basis of another Gram stain, one which involved comparing the uptake of a carbocyanine dye before and after permeabilizing organisms with EDTA. All of these methods, however, rely on one-color fluorescence, making analysis of mixed bacterial populations difficult.An alternative to the use of stains is the potassium hydroxide (KOH) test. The method categorizes organisms on the basis of differences in KOH solubility. After exposure to KOH, gram-negative bacteria are more easily disrupted than gram-positive organisms. This technique has been used to classify both aerobic and facultatively anaerobic bacteria, including gram-variable organisms (8). In a study by Halebian et al. (9), however, this technique incorrectly classified several anaerobic strains, giving rise to the recommendation that the method should only be used in conjunction with the traditional Gram stain.In this study we demonstrate a Gram staining technique for unfixed organisms in suspension, by using clinically relevant bacterial strains and organisms notorious for their gram variability. The method uses two fluorescent nucleic acid binding dyes, hexidium iodide (HI) and SYTO 13. Sales literature (11) published by the manufacturers of HI (Molecular Probes, Inc., Eugene, Oreg.), which displays a red fluorescence, suggests that the dye selectively stains gram-positive bacteria. SYTO 13 is one of a group of cell-permeating nucleic acid stains and fluoresces green (11). These dyes have been found to stain DNA and RNA in live or dead eukaryotic cells (16). Both dyes are excited at 490 nm, permitting their use in fluorescence instruments equipped with the most commonly available light sources. We reasoned that a combination of these two dyes applied to mixed bacterial populations would result in all bacteria being labeled, with differential labeling of gram-positive bacteria (HI and SYTO 13) and gram-negative bacteria (SYTO 13 only). The different fluorescence emission wavelengths of the two dyes would ensure differentiation of gram-positive from gram-negative bacteria by either epifluorescence microscopy or flow cytometry when equipped with the appropriate excitation and emission filters. While a commercial Gram stain kit produced by Molecular Probes includes HI and an alternative SYTO dye, SYTO 9, we are unaware of any peer-reviewed publications regarding either its use or its effectiveness with traditionally gram-variable organisms.     

Intracellular Cytokine Staining and Flow Cytometry: Considerations for Application in Clinical Trials of Novel Tuberculosis Vaccines

Intracellular cytokine staining combined with flow cytometry is one of a number of assays designed to assess T-cell immune responses. It has the specific advantage of enabling the simultaneous assessment of multiple phenotypic, differentiation and functional parameters pertaining to responding T-cells, most notably, the expression of multiple effector cytokines. These attributes make the technique particularly suitable for the assessment of T-cell immune responses induced by novel tuberculosis vaccines in clinical trials. However, depending upon the particular nature of a given vaccine and trial setting, there are approaches that may be taken at different stages of the assay that are more suitable than other alternatives. In this paper, the Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI) TB Biomarker Working group reports on efforts to assess the conditions that will determine when particular assay approaches should be employed. We have found that choices relating to the use of fresh whole blood or peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and frozen PBMC; use of serum-containing or serum-free medium; length of stimulation period and use of co-stimulatory antibodies can all affect the sensitivity of intracellular cytokine assays. In the case of sample material, frozen PBMC, despite some loss of sensitivity, may be more advantageous for batch analysis. We also recommend that for multi-site studies, common antibody panels, gating strategies and analysis approaches should be employed for better comparability.     

Pattern of Dna Synthesis and Its Effect On the Classification of Cells By Flow Cytometry

A flow cytometer produces a DNA distribution which contains information about the proportions of cells in various phases of the cell cycle. In this report we show that the form assumed for the rate of DNA synthesis in a cell plays an important part in the estimation of those proportions. We compare three forms for the rate of DNA synthesis, one of which is derived from knowledge of the mechanism of DNA replication, and find that they give substantially different estimates of the proportions of cells in the G₁ and G₂+ M phases.     

Dna Ploidy Studies of Benign and Malignant Tumours: Comparison of Flow Cytometry and Image Analysis Techniques Using Two Types of Cytological Specimen

DNA ploidy studies were carried out on Feulgen stained smears and cytocentrifuge preparations from 35 malignant tumours and four benign neoplasms using the CAS image analyser. The smears were prepared from scrapings from fresh tumour tissue whereas the cytocentrifuge preparations were prepared from single nuclear suspensions from paraffin-embedded cell blocks from the same tumour. Histograms obtained by image analysis of the tumour scrapes were compared with those obtained on the cytocentrifuge preparations. Concordant results were obtained in four benign tumours (100%) and 32 malignant tumours (91%). The results obtained by image analysis were also compared with results obtained by flow cytometry of the tumour tissue. Discordant results were obtained for three malignant tumours. Possible reasons for the discrepancy include sampling error, tumour heterogeneity and selective loss of cell populations during processing.     

Far-Red Fluorescent Protein Excitable with Red Lasers for Flow Cytometry and Superresolution STED Nanoscopy

Far-red fluorescent proteins are required for deep-tissue and whole-animal imaging and multicolor labeling in the red wavelength range, as well as probes excitable with standard red lasers in flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy. Rapidly evolving superresolution microscopy based on the stimulated emission depletion approach also demands genetically encoded monomeric probes to tag intracellular proteins at the molecular level. Based on the monomeric mKate variant, we have developed a far-red TagRFP657 protein with excitation/emission maxima at 611/657 nm. TagRFP657 has several advantages over existing monomeric far-red proteins including higher photostability, better pH stability, lower residual green fluorescence, and greater efficiency of excitation with red lasers. The red-shifted excitation and emission spectra, as compared to other far-red proteins, allows utilizing TagRFP657 in flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy simultaneously with orange or near-red fluorescence proteins. TagRFP657 is shown to be an efficient protein tag for the superresolution fluorescence imaging using a commercially available stimulated emission depletion microscope.     

Determination of Total Protein Content of Bacterial Cells by SYPRO Staining and Flow Cytometry

An assay has been developed for measuring protein biomass of marine planktonic bacteria by flow cytometry. The method was calibrated by using five species of Bacteria (an Arcobacter sp., a Cytophaga sp., an Oceanospirillum sp., a Pseudoalteromonas sp., and a Vibrio sp.) recently isolated from seawater samples and grown in culture at different temperatures. The intensity of SYPRO-protein fluorescence of these bacteria strongly correlated with their total protein content, measured by the bicinchoninic acid method to be in the range of 60 to 330 fg of protein cell⁻¹ (r² = 0.93, n = 34). According to the calibration, the mean biomass of planktonic bacteria from the North Sea in August 1998 was 24 fg of protein cell⁻¹.     

流式细胞术在细胞凋亡检测中的应用

凋亡是细胞受一些生理或病理信号刺激时所发生的一种程序性死亡过程.近年来,有关肿瘤细胞凋亡的研究已成为一个新的研究热点．围绕凋亡细胞出现的典型的形态变化及生化改变,建立了一些检测分析凋亡细胞的方法．文章着重概述了流式细胞术（FCM）在细胞凋亡研究中的应用,尤其是NT法、TdT法及SBIP法等新方法的价值.     

Detection of Fluorescent Nanoparticle Interactions with Primary Immune Cell Subpopulations by Flow Cytometry

Engineered nanoparticles are endowed with very promising properties for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. This work describes a fast and reliable method of analysis by flow cytometry to study nanoparticle interaction with immune cells. Primary immune cells can be easily purified from human or mouse tissues by antibody-mediated magnetic isolation. In the first instance, the different cell populations running in a flow cytometer can be distinguished by the forward-scattered light (FSC), which is proportional to cell size, and the side-scattered light (SSC), related to cell internal complexity. Furthermore, fluorescently labeled antibodies against specific cell surface receptors permit the identification of several subpopulations within the same sample. Often, all these features vary when cells are boosted by external stimuli that change their physiological and morphological state. Here, 50 nm FITC-SiO₂ nanoparticles are used as a model to identify the internalization of nanostructured materials in human blood immune cells. The cell fluorescence and side-scattered light increase after incubation with nanoparticles allowed us to define time and concentration dependence of nanoparticle-cell interaction. Moreover, such protocol can be extended to investigate Rhodamine-SiO₂ nanoparticle interaction with primary microglia, the central nervous system resident immune cells, isolated from mutant mice that specifically express the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) in the monocyte/macrophage lineage. Finally, flow cytometry data related to nanoparticle internalization into the cells have been confirmed by confocal microscopy.     

流式细胞术的发展、应用及前景

以流动中的细胞或颗粒为测量对象的流式细胞术能够在短时间内提供具有统计意义的大量单细胞、颗粒或集聚体的测量数据。经过70多年的发展,它已经成为生物学、医学、环境检测等多领域不可或缺的技术。这一技术于20世纪40年代被提出,于70年代成型,并在此后40多年里,检测性能、多参数测量能力和分选能力得到显著发展,而它的应用领域更是飞速扩展到从细菌、环境微生物检测、常规细胞功能检测,到许多临床疾病诊断和监测,再到最前沿的肿瘤免疫机理研究、免疫疗法和生物制药等广泛领域。当前,一系列新技术和相应的新型流式细胞仪被开发出来,虽然工作原理有别于传统方式,但获取大规模单细胞多参数测量的理念从未变化。流式细胞术领域正处于技术大发展和大变革的前夜。     

Development of a Fluorescent Based Immunosensor for the Serodiagnosis of Canine Leishmaniasis Combining Immunomagnetic Separation and Flow Cytometry

Background

An accurate diagnosis is essential for the control of infectious diseases. In the search for effective and efficient tests, biosensors have increasingly been exploited for the development of new and highly sensitive diagnostic methods. Here, we describe a new fluorescent based immunosensor comprising magnetic polymer microspheres coated with recombinant antigens to improve the detection of specific antibodies generated during an infectious disease. As a challenging model, we used canine leishmaniasis due to the unsatisfactory sensitivity associated with the detection of infection in asymptomatic animals where the levels of pathogen-specific antibodies are scarce.

Methodology

Ni-NTA magnetic microspheres with 1,7 µm and 8,07 µm were coated with the Leishmania recombinant proteins LicTXNPx and rK39, respectively. A mixture of equal proportions of both recombinant protein-coated microspheres was used to recognize and specifically bind anti-rK39 and anti-LicTNXPx antibodies present in serum samples of infected dogs. The microspheres were recovered by magnetic separation and the percentage of fluorescent positive microspheres was quantified by flow cytometry.

Principal Findings

A clinical evaluation carried out with 129 dog serum samples using the antigen combination demonstrated a sensitivity of 98,8% with a specificity of 94,4%. rK39 antigen alone demonstrated a higher sensitivity for symptomatic dogs (96,9%), while LicTXNPx antigen showed a higher sensitivity for asymptomatic (94,4%).

Conclusions

Overall, our results demonstrated the potential of a magnetic microsphere associated flow cytometry methodology as a viable tool for highly sensitive laboratorial serodiagnosis of both clinical and subclinical forms of canine leishmaniasis.     

抗体滴定在血液细胞流式细胞术中的应用

流式细胞术（flow cytometry）可以实现高速、逐一的细胞定量分析和分选，是研究和诊断血液病的重要手段之一。但是由于不同实验所用细胞和实验条件不同，经常存在抗原阴性细胞非特异染色等问题。利用抗体滴定法，可通过计算、比较染色指数，得到使抗原阳性细胞群和阴性细胞群达到最佳分离效果的实验条件。为了优化血液细胞流式细胞术中荧光抗体染色的实验条件，以小鼠骨髓细胞为被标记细胞，选择利用非串联荧光染料FITC标记的大鼠抗小鼠CD11b抗体（FITC Rat Anti-Mouse CD11b）和串联荧光染料APC-eFluor780标记的大鼠抗小鼠CD11b抗体（APC-eFluor780 Rat Anti-Mouse CD11b）进行标记。通过计算不同浓度抗体标记小鼠骨髓细胞的染色指数进行抗体滴定，确定合适的抗体浓度区间，进而分析细胞数量、染色时间及固定步骤对抗体染色指数的影响，探究影响血液细胞抗体染色的关键因素。结果显示，FITC Rat Anti-Mouse CD11b和APC-eFluor780 Rat Anti-Mouse CD11b的浓度分别在0.156~2.500 μg·mL-1和0.25~1.00 μg·mL-1范围内染色指数较高，但是超出这个范围的抗体浓度会使染色指数降低；抗体浓度、染色时间一定时，FITC Rat Anti-Mouse CD11b和APC-eFluor780 Rat Anti-Mouse CD11b分别在细胞数量为1.56×105~5.00×106 cells·管-1和1.56×105~3.12×105 cells·管-1范围内染色指数较高，但是超出这个范围的细胞数量会使染色指数降低；抗体浓度、细胞数量一定时，对于FITC Rat Anti-Mouse CD11b，随着染色时间的延长，染色指数降低，而APC-eFluor780 Rat Anti-Mouse CD11b与之相反；通过比较固定前后染色指数的高低发现，FITC Rat Anti-Mouse CD11b和APC-eFluor780 Rat Anti-Mouse CD11b在固定后染色指数均显著下降（P<0.01和P<0.05）。研究结果提供了一种通过抗体滴定优化流式分析血液细胞的方法，并指出在特定实验中根据抗体滴定结果选择合适的抗体浓度、细胞数量、染色时间和固定步骤对标记血液细胞进行流式检测的研究至关重要。     

流式细胞术在富营养淡水湖泊微型浮游植物细胞中的应用

应用流式细胞术(FCM)对一个富营养化淡水湖泊表、底层微型浮游植物细胞进行了初步研究。研究结果表明：流式细胞术可快速、多参数区分3种不同类群微型浮游植物。微型浮游植物细胞在表、底层占50μm以下微型颗粒物数量比例分别为21．08％、17．87％,在不同水层,微型浮游植物的优势类群及数量也不同。流式细胞术大大提高了淡水微型浮游生物研究监测水平。     

应用流式细胞术检测毕赤酵母的细胞活性

选取两种细胞活性染色试剂二乙酸荧光素(fluoresceindiacetate,FDA)和碘化丙锭(propidiumiodide,PI),应用流式细胞术(flowcytometry,FCM)检测毕赤酵母细胞活性。比较FDA/PI双染色与PI单染色的FCM图谱,后者能够很好地将死活细胞区分开来并得到正确的比例。利用PI单染色检测发酵过程细胞活性的变化,甘油补料阶段几乎没有细胞死亡,进入甲醇补料阶段后,随着细胞密度的增加,细胞的活性不断降低,发酵88h时细胞活性仅为73.8%。     

Vital Fluorescent Staining Technique for Microspores of Brassica Napus

The ontogeny of early microspore-derived embryo development was followed using three stains. The stain 3,3'-diethyloxadicarbocyanine iodide, which previously had been reported to be specific for mitochondria, was observed also to demonstrate the exine of developing microspores of Brassica napus.It provided high contrast when used in combination with Tinapol 5BM, a stain for cellulosic cell walls, and aided identification of microspores with embryogenic potential. Hoechst 33342, a nuclear stain, alone or in combination with either or both of the other stains, could be used to highlight the nuclear developmental stage of the microspores. This paper describes procedures using these materials for the specific staining of exine, cell wall/intine and nucleus, thereby permitting their fate to be followed during the early phases of microspore-derived embryo development.     

Enumeration and Biomass Estimation of Bacteria in Aquifer Microcosm Studies by Flow Cytometry

Flow cytometry was used to enumerate and characterize bacteria from a sand column microcosm simulating aquifer conditions. Pure cultures of a species of Bacillus isolated from subsurface sediments or Bacillus megaterium were first evaluated to identify these organisms' characteristic histograms. Counting was then carried out with samples from the aquifer microcosms. Enumeration by flow cytometry was compared with more-traditional acridine orange direct counting. These two techniques gave statistically similar results. However, counting by flow cytometry, in this case, surveyed a sample size 700 times greater than did acridine orange direct counting (25 (mu)l versus 0.034 (mu)l) and required 1/10 the time (2 h versus 20 h). Flow cytometry was able to distinguish the same species of bacteria grown under different nutrient conditions, and it could distinguish changes in cell growth patterns, specifically single cell growth versus chained cell growth in different regions of an aquifer microcosm. A biomass estimate was calculated by calibrating the total fluorescence of a sample from a pure culture with the dry weight of a freeze-dried volume from the original pure culture. Growth conditions significantly affected histograms and biomass estimates, so the calibration was carried out with cells grown under conditions similar to those in the aquifer microcosm. Costs associated with using flow cytometry were minimal compared with the amount of time saved in counting cells and estimating biomass.     

Resolution of Viable and Membrane-Compromised Bacteria in Freshwater and Marine Waters Based on Analytical Flow Cytometry and Nucleic Acid Double Staining

The membrane integrity of a cell is a well-accepted criterion for characterizing viable (active or inactive) cells and distinguishing them from damaged and membrane-compromised cells. This information is of major importance in studies of the function of microbial assemblages in natural environments, in order to assign bulk activities measured by various methods to the very active cells that are effectively responsible for the observations. To achieve this task for bacteria in freshwater and marine waters, we propose a nucleic acid double-staining assay based on analytical flow cytometry, which allows us to distinguish viable from damaged and membrane-compromised bacteria and to sort out noise and detritus. This method is derived from the work of S. Barbesti et al. (Cytometry 40:214–218, 2000) which was conducted on cultured bacteria. The principle of this approach is to use simultaneously a permeant (SYBR Green; Molecular Probes) and an impermeant (propidium iodide) probe and to take advantage of the energy transfer which occurs between them when both probes are staining nucleic acids. A full quenching of the permeant probe fluorescence by the impermeant probe will point to cells with a compromised membrane, a partial quenching will indicate cells with a slightly damaged membrane, and a lack of quenching will characterize intact membrane cells identified as viable. In the present study, this approach has been adapted to bacteria in freshwater and marine waters of the Mediterranean region. It is fast and easy to use and shows that a large fraction of bacteria with low DNA content can be composed of viable cells. Admittedly, limitations stem from the unknown behavior of unidentified species present in natural environments which may depart from the established permeability properties with respect to the fluorescing dyes.     

流式核酸单分子计数方法研究进展

研发精确灵敏的核酸定量技术,提升对微量样本的测量能力,在当前抗击新冠疫情的背景下尤其重要。流式核酸单分子计数是一种基于“计数”技术的定量测量方法,该方法无需聚合酶链式反应而对荧光标记的靶分子直接定量,测量结果直接溯源到国际基本单位。作为潜在的基准计量方法,它是当前核酸定量测量技术的重要补充,可广泛应用于临床诊断、转基因标识、食品药品残留检测等多个领域。对流式核酸单分子计数方法的原理、检测体系的硬件组成以及数据分析模型进行了综述,并展望了该方法对构建生物计量标准体系的重要意义。     

Fluorescent Staining of Juxtaglomerular Cells in Frozen Sections

Enzymatic investigations of the juxtaglomerular apparatus often creates the need for visualisation of granulated juxtaglomerular cells (JGC) in preparations subjected to histochemical procedures. In our investigations, Pitcock and Hartroft's (1958) modification of Bowie's method and the Endes et al. (1969) combined trichrome staining proved to be inadequate when applied to fresh cryostat sections, or to formol- or glutaraldehyde-fixetl, gum sucrose-impregnated frozen sections. Friedberg and Reid's (1966) crystal violet procedure for waxembedded kidneys also failed to give uniformly reproducible results. In attempting to find a satisfactory technique for both enzyme and granule staining, we noted Janigan's (1965) and Haratla's (1969) observations on paraffin-embedded JGC, and tested the following fluorochromes: thioflavine T—Fluka, C. I. 49005; auramine O—Merck, C. I. 41000; acridine orange—E. Gurr, C. I. 46005; berberine sulfate—Fluka, C. I. 75160 on 10 μ sections of albino mouse kidneys prepared in 4 different ways as follows: