an-automated-microscopic-scoring-method-for-h2ax-foci-assay-human

An Automated Microscopic Scoring Method for the &#947;-H2AX Foci Assay in Human Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes

Ionizing radiation is a potent inducer of DNA damage and a well-documented carcinogen. Biological dosimetry comprises the detection of biological effects ...

MetaSystems Hard & Software GmbH

The quantification of DNA damage, both in vivo and in vitro, can be very time consuming, since large amounts of samples need to be scored. Additional uncertainties may arise due to the lack of documentation or by scoring biases. Image analysis automation is a possible strategy to cope with these difficulties and to generate a new quality of reproducibility. In this communication we collected some recent results obtained with the automated scanning platform Metafer, covering applications that are being used in radiation research, biological dosimetry, DNA repair research and environmental mutagenesis studies. We can show that the automated scoring for dicentric chromosomes, for micronuclei, and for Comet assay cells produce reliable and reproducible results, which prove the usability of automated scanning in the above mentioned research fields.

New developments in automated cytogenetic imaging: unattended scoring of dicentric chromosomes, micronuclei, single cell gel electrophoresis, and fluorescence signals.

The HER2/neu gene (also known as ERBB2) is located on chromosome 17 (q11.2-q12) and encodes a glycoprotein known to be a member of the epidermal growth factor receptor family. Clinically, the determination of its amplification status is of utmost importance, as 10-35% of invasive human breast carcinomas come along with HER2/neu overexpression, and treatment has to be adjusted accordingly. Here a method to analyze HER2 FISH samples with digital microscopy, using the slide scanning -platform Metafer PV (MetaSystems, Altlussheim, Germany), is presented. Metafer PV is a system for the automation of HER2/neu FISH assay analysis of samples hybridized with the Abbott(™) PathVysion(®) probe kit.

Christian Schunck

MetaSystems Hard & Software GmbH

An Automated Microscopic Scoring Method for the γ-H2AX Foci Assay in Human Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes