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Histopathology and Diagnostic Core |  |
Coordinator: Dr. Karen Power
email: karen.power@unina.it
The Department of Biology at University of Naples Federico II offers researchers and Ph.D. students access to its Histopathology and Diagnostic Core which provides tools and expertise for research projects and teaching classes for Ph.D. and ungraduated students who would like to “ have a look at what happens in tissues”, and include in research projects histopathological results. The Histopathology and Diagnostic Core is equipped with all the tools necessary for processing both vertebrate and invertebrate tissue samples, from the step of fixation to the steps of cut and staining, and finally evaluation and diagnosis of histological sections. Moreover, the Core allows the possibility to process, cut and analyze fresh-frozen samples.
Formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) and frozen tissues are widely used histological techniques for analyzing tissue samples. FFPE relies on dehydrating and infiltration of paraffin into tissues, which are then encased in paraffin blocks, and sections are cut with a microtome. Paraffin sections are more physically stable and allow long-term preservation of tissue morphology and architecture. Fresh-frozen tissue processing involves embedding tissue in a specific medium, and sections are then sliced using a cryostat. Fresh-frozen sections are preferable in terms of quality of biomolecules and lipid retention.
The Histopathology and Diagnostic Core allows researchers to understand the changes occurring in any tissue of vertebrate or invertebrate animals, pairing macroscopic, ecotoxicological, toxicological, pharmacological results with microscopic data. Furthermore, the possibility of performing histochemical and immunohistochemical assays, allows to evaluate changes in the chemical composition of tissues and locate expression of proteins in tissues and support biomolecular data.