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C J Herman

Publications and source records attributed to C J Herman.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Flow-cytometric analysis of mixed cell populations using intermediate filament antibodies.

Using two human tumour cell lines, T24 bladder carcinoma and Molt-4 leukemia, flow-cytometric DNA analysis of pure and mixed cell populations was performed using cellular cytokeratin content to distinguish cytokeratin-containing carcinoma cells from leukemia cells which do not contain cytokeratin. Using cytokeratin content to gate DNA analysis, the same specificity and sensitivity of cellular DNA content and distribution measurement could be achieved by single-pass FCM analysis of a mixture of the two cell types as was seen when analysing pure populations of the two cell lines. This technique has broad applicability to FCM analysis of mixed populations composed of cells from different tissues of origin.

Antibodies↗

Applications of a human tumour clonogenic cell culture system in gynaecological oncology: review and personal experience.

Current and future clinical applications of the Human Tumour Clonogenic Cell Culture (HTC3) system are presented. Advanced gynaecological cancers, especially ovarian, endometrial and cervical carcinomas, require extensive systemic chemotherapy. The HTC3 system seems to be an adequate instrument for individualized chemosensitivity testing in order to choose proper cytostatic treatments; that is, maximum tumour cell kill with minimal side-effects. Furthermore, this system helps in assessing the response after treatment by detection of remaining clonogenic, and thus viable, tumour cells. Other clinical applications of the system include grading of the tumour and recognition of the histologic type. Thus the HTC3 provides a potential tool in diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of gynaecologic malignancies.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

Convention on nomenclature for DNA cytometry. Committee on Nomenclature, Society for Analytical Cytology.

Analysis of cellular DNA content by cytometry is important in clinical and biological research. Measurements are used widely to assess the relative DNA content of tumor stemlines and to assist in the detection and evaluation of malignant diseases. A review of the literature on DNA measurements in solid tumor and leukemias reveals a confusing variety of terms applied for the description of similar results. In order to facilitate the understanding of data and to standardize the terminology for DNA analyses, a questionnaire was distributed to more than 500 investigators. Subsequently, a workshop on terminology was held at the Combined Conference on Analytical Cytology and Cytometry IX and VIth International Symposium on Flow Cytometry, Schloss Elmau, West Germany, 18-23 October, 1982. The workshop nominated a nine-member committee to develop guidelines for nomenclature to be used in reporting results from analyses by DNA cytometry. The committee was charged by the Council of the Society for Analytical Cytology to complete this task and to publish its recommendations in Cytometry and in Cancer Genetics and Cytogenetics. The following guidelines are based on the questionnaires returned and the discussion at the workshop; they represent the unanimous recommendations of the committee. The five guidelines given herein apply to measurements of relative DNA content of cells that have been stained appropriately and analyzed by cytometry.

Animals↗

Pressure-fixation method of transferring cells from polycarbonate filters to glass slides.

A technique for the preparation of cytology slides is presented by which cells collected on a polycarbonate membrane filter are transferred to a slide by means of simultaneous pressure and fixation. Using cervical samples as a model, the influence of the filtration rate, filter pore size and duration of pressure application on cell recovery was analyzed. The present version of the preparation procedure uses manual techniques that define the operating characteristics of a fully automated procedure.

Cytological Techniques↗

Patterns of tumor colony development over time in soft-agar culture.

Human tumors were cultured by the two-layer soft-agar technique and the time course of tumor colony development was evaluated during periods of up to 6 weeks in culture. All colony counting was performed with an automated tumor colony counter (Omnicon; Bausch and Lomb, Inc, Rochester, NY, USA). This instrument provided colony counts per culture plate in six size categories from greater than 60 microns diameter colonies to greater than 149 microns diameter colonies. Six to 24 culture plates were used for each "growth curve", generally 24. Control (non-drug-treated) cultures were obtained from 117 tumors, of which 25 also provided enough cells to allow evaluation of the time course of colony development after exposure to cytostatic agents. The development of colonies in non-drug-treated plates usually demonstrated a lag phase, a logarithmic growth phase to maximum colony development and a subsequent deterioration of colonies. In spite of clumps seeded into the agar, real colony growth could be recognized by frequent colony counting of culture dishes, although the temporal patterns of growth were sometimes different if pure single-cell suspensions were compared with suspensions containing clumps from the same tumor. Drug pre-incubation caused changes in the temporal pattern of colony growth as well as in the total number of colonies. Some cultures showed drug sensitivity when evaluated at certain time points while evaluation at later time points showed only borderline drug effect or none at all. The potential utility of tumor colony growth curves in the clinical applications of tumor colony cultures is discussed.

Agar↗

In-use evaluation of the Omnicon automated tumor colony counter.

The reproducibility and accuracy of the Omnicon (Bausch and Lomb Inc., Rochester, NY) automated tumor colony counter for counting tumor colonies growing in double layer soft agar is evaluated and the reproducibility is compared with manual tumor colony counting. Replicate within day run-to-run colony counts of the Omnicon show a median correlation coefficient (r) of greater than 0.985, and day-to-day median r of greater than 0.980. In contrast, for manual colony counting, the best intra-observer reproducibility achieved is a r of 0.943 and the best inter-observer reproducibility is a r of 0.831. Analysis of results from individual culture plates counted by the Omnicon on 5 separate days shows a median coefficient of variation of 10% with 77% of the culture dishes showing coefficients of variation of colony counts over 5 days of less than 20%. Counting of culture plates during incubation shows that the Omnicon is counting tumor colonies developing after plating of a single cell suspension.

Animals↗

Antibodies to intermediate filament proteins in the immunohistochemical identification of human tumours: an overview.

Intermediate-sized filament proteins (IFP) are tissue specific in that antibodies to keratin, vimentin, desmin, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and the neurofilament proteins can distinguish between cells of epithelial and mesenchymal origin as well as of myogenic and neural origin respectively. Malignant cells retain their tissue-specific IFP, which makes it possible to use these antibodies in tumour diagnosis. Carcinomas are exclusively detected by antibodies to keratin. Monoclonal antibodies to keratin have allowed the differentiation between subgroups of epithelial tumours until now between adenocarcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas. Lymphomas, melanomas and several soft tissue tumours are distinctly recognized by antibodies to vimentin. On the other hand, rhabdomyosarcomas and leiomyosarcomas are positive for desmin, while astrocytomas give a strong reaction with GFAP antibodies. Thus, antibodies to IFP are useful tools for differential diagnosis in surgical pathology.

Antibodies↗

Is renal cell (Grawitz) tumor a carcinosarcoma? Evidence from analysis of intermediate filament types.

The expression of intermediate filament type was determined in 13 renal cell (Grawitz) tumors (10 primary renal tumors and 3 lymph node metastases). All of the tumors except one lymph node metastasis contained cells expressing vimentin intermediate filaments, generally a marker of mesodermally-derived tissues and their tumors, the sarcomas. In addition, the 10 primary renal tumors and two lymph node metastases contained cells expressing keratin proteins. Using a monoclonal antibody to keratins, specific for glandular epithelial cells, it has been shown that some of the tumor cells resemble adenocarcinomas, at least in this respect. Double immunofluorescence labeling demonstrated that some of the vimentin-containing cells contained keratin while others did not. Only occasional cells were found to contain keratin but not vimentin. However, one of the lymph node metastases was positive only for vimentin. Thus Grawitz tumor cells express intermediate filament types which are generally biological markers of both sarcomatous and carcinomatous tumors.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Lymphography in the management of urologic tumors. Radiological-pathological correlation.

Of 59 patients undergoing lymphography as part of staging for urologic tumor (bladder carcinoma, prostate carcinoma, seminomatous and nonseminomatous testicular tumors), histological material was obtained in 38. Lymphography was shown to have a specificity of 95%, a sensitivity of 81%, and an overall accuracy of 89%. When lymph node regions were considered, the specificity was 99.2%, sensitivity 59%, and overall accuracy 91%. Causes of discrepancies between radiography and histology are evaluated and receiver operating characteristic curves are demonstrated.

Adult↗

Soft-agar cultures of transitional cell carcinoma colonies from urine, irrigation fluids and tumor samples.

Soft-agar cultures of transitional cell carcinoma from urine, irrigation fluid and transurethral resection solid tumor specimens show good colony growth. Growth of tumor colonies produced from urine was adequate to evaluate the presence of a viable tumor, since 12 of 18 noninfected cultures showed growth. The number of colonies produced was adequate to evaluate the sensitivity or resistance to chemotherapy agents in only 3 of 18 cultures. For irrigation fluid, similar results were obtained: 9 of 17 noninfected cultures showed growth, while only 3 of 17 were adequate for drug-sensitivity evaluation. For the evaluation of sensitivity or resistance, tumor cell suspensions were most appropriate, 7 of 25 noninfected cultures showed 30 or more colonies/dish, whereas 17 of 25 showed growth. With the possibility of obtaining growth of tumor cells derived from urine, a prospective study is proposed to define the value of repeated urine cultures in monitoring the status of the urothelium of patients treated for transitional cell carcinoma.

Agar↗

Mesodermal mixed tumor. Diagnosis by analysis of intermediate filament proteins.

A 58-year-old patient presented with poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma, probably primary in the ovary and, later in the course of her illness, with pure pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma. There was no evidence by light or electron microscopy of a mixture of these two tumor types. Further analysis by immunoperoxidase demonstrated scattered desmin-positive (muscle) cells in the adenocarcinoma portion of the tumor, establishing the diagnosis of malignant mesodermal mixed tumor.

Adenocarcinoma↗

'Viable' tumor cells in posttherapy biopsy specimens. A potential application of human tumor clonogenic cell culture.

Human carcinoma tissues were grown in culture for two to four weeks using the two-layer soft agar technique. All cultures that showed growth of tumor cell colonies also showed well-preserved, apparently healthy tumor cells lying singly. These cells showed neither proliferative capacity nor necrosis or morphologic degeneration during the time in soft agar. Thus, morphologic criteria seem to be poor indicators of tumor cell proliferative potential, at least in the short term. However, the method of soft agar tumor clonogenic cell culture itself provided a direct measure of tumor cell proliferative capacity, ie, the formation of colonies from single tumor cells. This may be valuable in directly assessing the presence of "viable" tumor cells in biopsy specimens taken after therapy, and thus guide further patient therapy.

Agar↗

Artificial vaginas: possible sources of epithelialization.

Biopsy specimens from surgically created peritoneium-lined vaginas in 23 patients with complete vaginal agenesis showed squamous metaplastic epithelium lining the vaginal canal. In nine of the patients, histologic or cytologic evidence, or both, suggested that the metaplastic squamous epithelium could be derived from pre-existing glandular epithelium - sebaceous, paramesonephric (mullerian), or urogenital sinus. The histologic and cytologic features in six patients with paramesonephric-like gland elements in the mucosa and submucosa of the neovagina were similar to the features seen in milder forms of vaginal adenosis.

Biopsy↗

Soft agar culture of human transitional cell carcinoma colonies from urine.

Soft-agar culture of transitional cell carcinoma colonies from urine, bladder irrigation fluid, and transurethral resection solid tumor specimens demonstrate generally better growth of tumor cell colonies from urine than from irrigation fluid. Growth of tumor colonies from urine was adequate to evaluate presence of tumor and to study growth parameters of the tumor colonies in vitro, although the number of colonies produced from urine was inadequate to evaluate sensitivity or resistance to chemotherapeutic agents. Growth in soft agar of transitional cell carcinoma colonies from urine may offer a simple, noninvasive method of evaluating the effectiveness of therapy and the prognosis for tumor progression.

Adult↗

Quantitative light microscopy of atypical mesothelial cells and malignant cells in ascitic fluid.

Light microscopic cytologic diagnosis of pleural and peritoneal effusions--specifically, the differentiation between atypical or reactive mesothelial cells and malignant cells--remains a problem. During the past several years, various labor-intensive special techniques have been used to obtain a better understanding of the morphology of these cell types. The present study, performed in part to provide a basis for developing more advanced quantitative cytologic techniques, employed visual light microscopic cytometry using an ocular micrometer on 750 malignant and 750 atypical mesothelial cells at a magnification of 1,000X. Our results statistically confirmed the importance of diagnostic features used in routine cytologic evaluation. In addition to the previously reported differences between cellular, nuclear and nucleolar size in malignant cells and atypical mesothelial cells in effusions, the percentage of irregular nucleoli was shown to be an important differential feature, averaging 58.8% in malignant cells as compared with 6.6% in atypical mesothelial cells.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Classification of gynecologic flow cytometry data: a comparison of methods.

Several discriminant function methods for automatically classifying flow cytometry data from human cervical material were developed and compared with previously published methods using a sample of 186 specimens. The misclassification rates (approximately 20%) were similar to those of other published techniques for classifying these data. The methods misclassify different cases, however. The apparent system performance appears to be limited by at least three factors: (1) use of too small a sample in constructing classification algorithms, (2) poor "visibility" of small numbers of abnormal cells in the flow histograms and (3) incorrect or inconsistent visual classification of the samples used to construct the classification algorithms. The third factor results in erroneously high estimates of the misclassification rate. Even so, the overall system performance appears to be comparable to that of many cytotechnologists.

Cervix Uteri↗

Flow microfluorometric analysis of cellular DNA: Critical comparison of mithramycin and propidium iodide.

Mithramycin and propidium iodide were used to stain HeLa cells, human lymphoma cells, and phytohemagglutinin-stimulated lymphocytes for flow microfluorometric analysis of cellular DNA. The stains provided similar estimates for the proliferative fraction of the populations. However, significant differences in the relative fluorescent intensity were demonstrated in the three cell populations. Fluorescent intensity of HeLa and lymphoma cells stained with mithramycin was higher than matched propidium iodide-stained cells. Normal lymphocytes showed greater fluorescent intensity when stained with propidium iodide. Differences in the staining behavior of these two dyes may prove to be highly informative probes of chromatin structural differences.

Animals↗