The Pathology Core will routinely process tissue specimens submitted from the projects and Clinical Core for light microscopy, histochemistry and immunocytochemistry. Due to the high volume of mouse tissues from several bronchial asthma models that require quantitation, an Aperio Image Analysis system, with a stereology module, has been purchased and will be dedicated to the investigative needs of this CRC. It is a digital pathology system which converts entire glass microscope slide specimens into high-resolution, whole slide digital images that can then undergo quantitative analytical techniques. The automated Image quantitative analytical techniques have been shown to shorten research and analysis efforts by 90%, which is critical with the number of slides processed in this core facility (over 3500 during the current CRC grant period). The interpretation of the tissue specimens will be the responsibility of the Core Director and all data will be subsequently shared with the investigators. Projects 1 and 2 and the Clinical Core of this CRC will require substantive Pathology support. The Pathology Core is vital to this CRC because it 1) will process and produce all the routine histopathological specimens for pathologic evaluation and diagnosis, 2) will provide the production of the needed immunocytochemical markers of cell types identified in the mouse models of bronchial asthma that can then be quantified, 3) will produce definitive quantitative data that can be compared and contrasted among different asthma models, 4) will determine the pathological effects of CARDS TX administration in the ova and dust mite asthma models, 5) determine and quantify potential differences in mutant CARDS TX pathologies, and 6) identify M. pneumoniae organisms and CARDS TX in human tissue and fluid specimens. Information gained from the services provided by this core will augment the proposed research plans that will assist the documentation that CARDS TX is an etiologic agent in the pathogenesis of a subset of asthmatic patients.
The Pathology Core will provide critically needed pathologic and morphometric data needed for the investigator/submitted research plans in this grant. Our research goal is to elucidate the role of CARDS TX in new-onset asthma, and its likely role of augmenting asthma of different underlying etiologies.
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