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Welcome to a new section in the Becker Lab
here in
the Institute of Pathology
at the Technische Universität München.
We analyse tissue samples from the clinic
using modern molecular technologies -
i.e. on the DNA, RNA, and protein levels.
The aim of our studies
is to establish biomarkers
for a more specific
diagnosis and more effective therapy
of patients with cancer.
When a study has been finished
or when it is published
in a scientific journal
I would like to present this data in this new section
"News from the Becker Lab".
What´s new in the Becker Lab?
In the first episode of this new section, I will summarize
a completed study
with a novel tissue fixation system and the analysis
of proteins and phosphoproteins.
The PAXgene Tissue System
preserves phosphoproteins in human tissue specimens
and enables comprehensive protein biomarker research.
What questions did we address in this study?
Traditionally, tissue samples from the clinic are fixed with formalin
and embeded in paraffin wax,
resulting in such tissue blocks.
These tissue blocks are cut,
the cells in the resulting sections
are stained and pathologists are able
to diagnose a disease because of the morphology of the cells.
e.g. tumor cells.
It now becomes more and more important
to measure molecular markers, so-called
biomarkers
in these tissue samples.
This kind of analysis
is a big challenge in formalin-fixed tissue samples.
Fresh or frozen tissue samples are well suited for
molecular analyses;
however, the morphology
is very much compromised
in these fresh frozen tissue samples.
To have a tissue fixation technology
for both morphological diagnosis
and molecular assays
would be highly desirable.
During the European Union project SPIDIA we analysed in cooperation with many colleagues
if it is possible to analysis proteins and phosphoproteins
in PAXgene-fixed
tissue samples.
This tissue fixation system
is equally well suited
for morphology and
molecular analyses.
We extracted proteins and phosphoproteins
from formalin- anf PAXgene-fixed tissue samples and analysed them
by Western blotting.
The results were compared to unfixed tissues.
Our results show that
phosphoproteins are excellently preserved
in PAXgene-fixed tissu samples.
Besides Western blot we also successfully performed
2D gelelectrophoresis and ELISA
assays.
You will find more details in our publication.