Abstract 230: Do-It-Yourself expression microdissection (DIY xMD): A low-cost, high-throughput cell and organelle isolation system

Abstract

Abstract Laser-based microdissection technologies precisely recover histological regions or cells from cytology preparations and tissue sections. Yet, due to the high-cost and time-intensiveness of these methods, coarse manual microdissection is the most commonly used tool for laboratory-based studies and clinical applications, enabling rapid procurement but at the expense of reduced cell purity. We present a low-cost, do-it-yourself expression microdissection (DIY xMD) kit that combines the speed and ease-of-use of manual methods with the precision of laser-based instruments. Using DIY xMD, we isolated cell targets including ER+ nuclei and GMS-stained aspergillis fungi from clinical specimens. We also demonstrate the advantage of cellular enrichment in a cytology-based study where BRAF and KRAS mutations were masked by background cells in a manual dissection, yet identifiable after cells were recovered by DIY xMD. The new system makes high-throughput, efficient microdissection accessible to investigators and clinicians throughout the world. Citation Format: Michael A. Tangrea, Avi Z. Rosenberg, Patricia A. Fetsch, Michael D. Armani, Liqiang Xi, Mark Raffeld, Tina Thu Pham, Yun Chen, Neil O'Flaherty, Rebecca Stussman, Adele R. Blackler, Qiang Du, Jeffrey C. Hanson, Mark J. Roth, Armando C. Filie, Michael H. Roh, Jason D. Hipp, Michael R. Emmert-Buck. Do-It-Yourself expression microdissection (DIY xMD): A low-cost, high-throughput cell and organelle isolation system. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 230. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-230