Three-dimensional direct measurement of cardiomyocyte volume, nuclearity, and ploidy in thick histological sections.

ABSTRACT: Quantitative assessment of myocardial development and disease requires accurate measurement of cardiomyocyte volume, nuclearity (nuclei per cell), and ploidy (genome copies per cell). Current methods require enzymatically isolating cells, which excludes the use of archived tissue, or serial sectioning. We describe a method of analysis that permits the direct simultaneous measurement of cardiomyocyte volume, nuclearity, and ploidy in thick histological sections. To demonstrate the utility of our technique, heart tissue was obtained from four species (rat, mouse, rabbit, sheep) at up to three life stages: prenatal, weaning and adulthood. Thick (40 μm) paraffin sections were stained with Wheat Germ Agglutinin-Alexa Fluor 488 to visualise cell membranes, and DAPI (4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole

SUBMITTER: Bensley JG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4822151 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature