Histology

 

The Histology Core Facility has the equipment and expertise to produce reliable high-quality sections from fixed and unfixed tissues, frozen and paraffin-embedded tissues. The Histology Core Facility uses routine paraffin processing, embedding, sectioning, and staining with standard histological methods.  Facility staff provide additional support for special orientation of tissues, serial and/or step sections, bone decalcification and other procedures. The Histology Laboratory also routinely deals with frozen tissues (both fresh-frozen and fixed-frozen), sections and stains. Procedures are available to quantify cellular apoptosis, angiogenesis, and cell proliferation.

The lab offers standard H&E staining as well as a wide range of special stains to look at connective tissue, mucins, lipids, nucleic acids, amyloid, microorganisms, and other proteins. Please consult staff if you have questions about available stains or are interested in using a stain not currently offered.

Immunohistochemistry services are also offered.   Customers are asked to provide their own primary antibodies and staff will develop protocols, titrate antibodies and optimize assays.   We can use various detection methods including immunoperoxidase, alkaline phosphatase, and fluorescence. Protocols include dual IHC and multi-color IF.  A set of detection antibodies are available through the core, or you can provide your own.  The staff has a great deal of experience with antigen retrieval techniques for formalin fixed tissue and with staining human and animal tissue.

We recommend that you consult with Histology Core staff before submitting samples or antibodies so we can establish protocols for trimming, fixation, processing, embedding tissue or staining.

The core has a microtome and cryostat available for shared use. Upon request, training can be provided for use of these instruments, use of the Aperio image analyzer or for other general histology procedures.

 

This core is supported in part from a Cancer Center Support Grant from the National Cancer Institute.

 

 

 

 

Qing Gao, Core Facility Manager