Introduction to Technical Mini-reviews

Abstract

The minireview on RNase protection assays1 presented in this issue of Veterinary Pathology will initiate a series on new and improved technologies applicable to diagnostic and experimental pathology. Increasingly, the biomedical community is turning toward high-throughput technology and sophisticated automated methods to diagnosis and evaluate diseases. Although the capital expense and lack of technical expertise may restrict some of these technologies to commercial and research organizations, all veterinary pathologists need to be conversant in the terminology and practical application associated with these tools. It was not long ago that immunohistochemistry (IHC), in situ hybridization (ISH), polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and reverse transcriptase PCR (RTPCR) were new and unproved tissue-based technologies. These techniques and associated automated instrumentation are now routinely found in diagnostic and research laboratories. In addition to supplementing histopathology, in many cases these techniques have replaced serology, in vitro culture, and electron microscopy as the gold standards for diagnosticians and researchers. Advancements in established tissue-based technologies will not be excluded; however, the overall intent of these minireviews is to introduce and discuss the application of all promising and evolving technologies to veterinary pathology. In some cases, these tools may not be the approach taken by your laboratory or applicable to pathology laboratories in general. Regardless, a basic familiarity with the technique and its advantages and disadvantages are useful to understanding the current biomedical literature and interacting with colleagues in other disciplines where these techniques are routinely used. In time, some of these tools are expected to join in situ PCR and cold fusion as impractical and inaccurate nonsense. Alternatively, some tools are expected to supplant traditional histology and histopathology and ultimately change the entire profession. Genomics, proteomics and mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, metabonomics, laser-capture microdissection, bioinformatics, real-time RT-PCR, automated cellular imaging, virtual histology, tissue microarrays, in vivo tracing with bioluminescent markers, and digital photomicroscopy are some of the topics proposed for future minireviews. Input from the readers on format and topics of interest are encouraged. Comments and proposals should be directed to Dr. JoAnn C.L. Schuh, Applied Veterinary Pathobiology, 1752 Lewis Place NW, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110–3663, Tel: (206)-295-4944, Fax: (206)-842-7067, E-mail:schuhj@bainbridge.net.