The Tissue Management Shared Resource provides IRB-approved centralized tissue procurement services for various specimens derived from consented human participants. Over 4500 tissue specimens and bodily fluids, from 52 different tissue types, especially blood, bone marrow, breast, colon, kidney, lung, ovary and prostate, and 84 defined cancer subtypes are available. In terms of demographics, 65%, 17% and 15% of specimens are derived from Caucasian, African-American and Hispanic participants, respectively;59% of specimens are derived from female participants. All tissue specimens are evaluated by a board-certified anatomic pathologist for quality control purposes, ensuring that the specimens used for research are of the highest quality. For every specimen, extensive data is captured from the participant's medical record, including demographics, clinical findings, diagnostic laboratory testing results, treatment information and pathology assessment results. These data are captured and stored in the UT Southwestern Biomaterial Tracking and Management (BTM) software application, which includes a relational database that stores these data in a de-identified manner that can be accessed and searched through a secure web interface to authorized investigators. In addition to procurement services, the resource offers a number of other ancillary services. DNA and RNA fractions are routinely isolated from procured specimens. Standard histology services - embedding (fresh and fixed), sectioning (frozen and fixed), and staining - are offered for all specimens. Laser capture microdissection of tissue sections is offered for investigators wishing to isolate specific cells within a tissue sample for further analysis. Laser capture is offered at two levels of resolution - capture of tissue regions and capture of individual cell sets - depending on the specific research needs of the investigator. The resource offers services for the construction of tissue microarray in which as many as 768 samples can be arrayed in a single paraffin block and sectioned for immunohistochemical analysis. The resource is equipped for the isolation and growth of primary cells from patient samples for tissue culture studies and xenotransplantation. In order to ensure the highest level of compliance and consistency, resource staff routinely takes responsibility for consenting surgical patients for participation in tissue procurement-based research.
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