A Comparison of Tissue Dissection Techniques for Diagnostic, Prognostic, and Theragnostic Analysis of Human Disease

Abstract

Histopathology has historically been the critical technique for the diagnosis and treatment of human disease. Today, genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics from specific cells, rather than bulk tissue, have become key to understanding underlying disease mechanisms and rendering useful diagnostic information. Extraction of desired analytes, i.e., nucleic acids or proteins, from easily accessible formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues allows for clinically relevant activities, such as sequencing biomarker mutations or typing amyloidogenic proteins. Genetic profiling has become routine for cancers as varied as non-small cell lung cancer and prostatic carcinoma. The five main tissue dissection techniques that have been developed thus far include: bulk scraping, manual macrodissection, manual microdissection, laser-capture microdissection, and expression microdissection. In this review, we discuss the importance of tissue dissection in clinical practice and research, the basic methods, applications, as well as some advantages and disadvantages for each modality.

Shotgun proteomics identification of proteins expressed in the Descemet’s membrane of patients with Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy

“…The spatial resolution of the currently utilized MALDI-IMS was 50 μm, suggesting that guttae with diameter ranges of 20–400 μm 31 , 37 , 38 can be detected. However, discriminating a single gutta from the specimen and identifying its expressed proteins may require other approaches, such as laser-capture microdissection 39 , 40 .…”

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“…Tissue dissection ensures the exclusion of extraneous tissues by isolating specific regions of interest and reducing contamination from nontarget cell types. This step is particularly important when working with tumor samples to ensure that the isolated primary cells are derived from tumor tissue 68 .…”

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“…42 Macrodissection can be used to enrich a tissue section, or a cytologic specimen, for a sufficient percentage of tumor cells that may not otherwise be reached when scraping a whole section. 43 In some cases, microdissection with appropriate techniques can rescue specimens that would otherwise not qualify for molecular testing. 44 Both procedures require interaction with the pathologist to mark the areas or cell groups of interest.…”