Investigation of biomarkers of pre-neoplasia as well as markers for prognosis and response to individualized therapies is increasingly important in translational research, a major focus of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. One recent advance relevant to these translational efforts is the development of tissue microarrays (TMAs), which allow high through-put analysis of expression of numerous markers as determined by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. However, the utility of TMAs is limited by the subjective semi-quantitative nature of the data analysis by individual pathologists. We are requesting funds to purchase an Ariol SL-50 Automated Cellular Scanning Quantitation System to overcome these limitations. This system will obtain digitized images of stained slides at various magnifications, including different types of stains, counterstains, immunohistochemical chromagens, and multiple fluorescent probes. Because the Ariol SL-50 system is automated and can scan in 50 slides overnight, facilitation of analysis of multiple slides without human intervention is possible. The images are easily reviewable by a consulting pathologist to confmn the veracity of interpretation. The most important characteristic of the system is the ability to quantify staining using varying calculations including the area of staining as a percent of total tissue area, staining per cell and number of stained cells and to differentiate patterns of intracellular staining among nuclear, cytoplasmic and plasma membrane locations. Operation of the instrument will be supervised by Dr. Washington, who will also oversee maintenance. Service contract fees will be offset by charging a small user fee per slide. Major users are primarily investigators from the VUMC Lung, GI, and Breast SPOREs, the Skin Diseases Research Center, and the Digestive Diseases Research Center. Use of the system and prioritization of access will be under the oversight of the Utilization Committee. The presence of this instrument will allow us to embark on the large-scale translational biomarker studies that are required for evaluation of diagnostic and prognostic markers. An additional benefit is the ease of data sharing among groups, facilitating interactions among investigators and promoting inter-SPORE collaborations.
