Introduction. Pathology.
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Clinical Laboratory Techniques↗
Biomedical subjects
Cynthia L Jackson
Publications and source records attributed to Cynthia L Jackson.
Beta-carotene alters the morphology of NCI-H69 small cell lung cancer cells.
The effect of beta-carotene on the morphology of NCI-H69 small cell lung cancer cells that had undergone beta-carotene-induced growth reduction (P < 0.05) was examined. The cells were grown at 1 x 10(8) cells/L and were cultured with or without 20 micromol/L beta-carotene. The qualitative electron microscopic observations revealed that beta-carotene-treated cells contained more vacuoles than control cells not treated with beta-carotene. The quantitative image analysis showed a significantly smaller (P < 0.05) value of the nuclear roundness factor for treated cells compared with control cells, indicating an irregular nuclear morphology of beta-carotene-treated cells. The major diameter of the cells and the minor diameter of the nuclei were significantly smaller (P < 0.05), and the nuclear perimeter was significantly larger (P < 0.05) in beta-carotene-treated cells. The ratio of nucleus to cytoplasm was significantly less (P < 0.05) in beta-carotene-treated cells compared with control cells, indicating a less malignant growth of the cells. These results demonstrate that the treatment of small cell lung cancer cells with beta-carotene induces morphological changes in the cells concomitant with a reduction in their proliferation. Further investigation is required to show a direct effect of beta-carotene or its intracellular polar metabolites on the morphology of these cells.
Antioxidants↗
Postmortem RNA and protein stability in perinatal human lungs.
The availability of fetal and neonatal lung tissue is an invaluable resource to elucidate the molecular regulation of human lung development. In this study, we have investigated the mRNA and protein stability of perinatal lung tissues treated with RNA (Ambion Inc., Austin, TX) or snap frozen in liquid nitrogen (LN ). Lung samples were obtained from 25 consecutive perinatal autopsies of live-born and stillborn infants (median gestational age, 23 weeks) with various clinical presentations. Treatment of lung tissue with RNA yielded more total RNA and protein than LN freezing. The integrity of RNA, assessed by spectrophotometry and gel electrophoresis, was equivalent between both tissue preservation methods, and both methods produced RNA suitable for reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis of representative genes (beta-actin and surfactant protein-B [SP-B]). Similarly, the protein integrity of RNA -treated tissues was equivalent to that of LN -frozen tissues, as judged by Western blot analysis of SP-B/actin protein expression. Although the total yield was similar in live-born, nonmacerated stillborn and macerated stillborn infants, only RNA and protein from live-born or nonmacerated stillborn infants was suitable for subsequent molecular analyses. Within the 41-hour range studied, the duration of the postmortem interval did not affect the yield or integrity of RNA and protein with either tissue preservation method. In summary, high-quality RNA and protein, suitable for routine molecular analyses, can be obtained from postmortem lung tissue from live-born and nonmacerated stillborn infants, even with prolonged postmortem intervals. RNA is equivalent, if not superior, to LN for preservation of postmortem RNA and protein in developing human lungs.
Autolysis↗