SITE SEARCH

The AMP CORE LAB is a component of the Center for Clinical and Scientific Studies in the Department of Pathology and Immunology. The Lab specializes in tissue-based analysis in support of approved clinical and basic research. It is a full service facility that is available to all WU investigators on a fee-for-service basis.

The AMP Core Lab currently provides resources for routine histopathology, immunohistochemistry, and the construction of tissue microarrays (TMA). Specimens are centrally accessioned by the Core Lab and distributed to component labs as required for the specific study. Each lab has a Medical Director from the Division of Anatomic and Molecular Pathology.

Histology

The Histology Lab performs paraffin embedding of fixed tissues or cell blocks, sectioning of paraffin or frozen blocks, and a wide variety of histochemical staining procedures. The Lab routinely prepares unstained slides of embedded tissue for immunohistochemical assays and in situ hybridization. The Medical Director is Dr. James Lewis.

Tissue Microarrays

The Histology Lab also prepares custom tissue microarrays (TMA) from formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded tissue blocks. Arrays consist of up to 100 or more individual tissue specimens on a single slide. TMAs provide powerful tools for tissue profiling of protein and gene expression, and can facilitate the characterization of cell and tissue specificity of antibodies. A limited number of pre-fabricated screening arrays of human and murine tissues will soon be available. The Medical Director is Dr. James Lewis.

Immunohistochemistry

The Immunohistochemistry Lab performs immunostaining of fixed and embedded tissues, including tissue microarrays, usually by immunoperoxidase techniques. The lab has protocols for a large number of well-characterized commercial antibodies to human antigens. Depending on the antibody or research protocol, manual or automated staining is employed. The core can also assist with the characterization of new immunological reagents using tissue microarrays. Emphasis is currently placed on human studies. The Medical Director is Dr. Dengfeng Cao.

Molecular Pathology

The Molecular Pathology lab provides resources for molecular and genetic analysis of fresh or fixed and embedded tissues. At present, these services are limited to departmental faculty and trainees. The Medical Director is Dr. John Pfeifer.

Digital Imaging

Services are available for routine digital photomicrography. The Lab also has a Bioimagene scanner and software available for research applications. The facility is directed by Mr. Walter Clermont.