Services
Services that will be provided in the Neuropathology/Histochemistry Core include, but are not limited to:
- Processing/embedding of tissues
- Cutting of paraffin sections
- Cutting of floating sections
- Staining (basic histology, special stains and immunohistochemistry)
- Whole slide scanning
- Instruction in staining (basic histology, special stains and immunohistochemistry)
- Optimization of staining with an antibody provided by the investigator
- Assistance with evaluation of neuropathologic findings
- Filling of requests for human postmortem brain tissues
Core users will receive up to 2 hours of advanced consultation free of charge per project.
Processing/embedding of tissues and cutting of sections
Processing/embedding of tissues and cutting of sections
Tissues provided by the investigator are sliced, placed in tissue cassettes, dehydrated through a series of graded ethanols, infiltrated with xylenes and subsequently with paraffin, and then embedded in blocks of paraffin. Six to eight micron thick paraffin sections are then cut from these blocks and mounted on microscope slides for staining. Other section thickness can be cut upon request. If the investigator desires, when working with small pieces of tissues, such as slices of mouse brain, multiple slices can be embedded in a single tissue block to allow for better work efficiency and conservation of reagents during staining. The Neuropathology/Histochemistry Core leader meets with each investigator individually to determine the methods best suited for their particular experiments. The Core also cuts sections from blocks provided by investigators.
Staining (basic histology, special stains and immunohistochemistry)
Tissues processed by the Neuropathology/Histochemistry Core or sections provided by the investigator can be stained using a variety of methods. Stains routinely performed by this Core include, but are not limited to, hematoxylin, silver stains, thioflavine S, myelin stains, and immunocytochemistry with a wide variety of antibodies such as A-beta, tau, alpha-synuclein, TDP-43, ubiquitin, GFAP and neurofilament. The Neuropathology/Histochemistry Core can also optimize staining protocols with antibodies provided by individual investigators and then use these antibodies to stain sections for them. Other special services available through the Core include instruction in immunohistochemistry and assistance with evaluation of neuropathologic findings, and whole slide scanning providing complete digital images for archiving and image analysis.
Requests for Postmortem Brain Tissues
In addition to the brain tissue processing component to this core, the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease maintains an active brain bank subsidized by institutional funds to facilitate the acquisition, storage, handling and distribution of well-characterized autopsy brain tissue and other materials to investigators. This includes frozen tissues, brain biopsies, and formalin- and paraformaldehyde-fixed tissues. These samples are derived from primarily from well-characterized patients with dementia, movement disorders, neuromuscular disorders and other nervous system diseases as well as healthy control subjects. These resources are available to NINDS funded researchers and other researchers upon request. Please note that all requests must be approved by the CND Tissue Committee prior to distribution of human brain tissues. The fees charged for filling tissue requests reflect only the costs of banking and distributing the samples; there is no charge for the samples themselves.
