Fast acetone tissue processing of human organs provides tissue characteristics equal to conventional processing.

Routine preparation of paraffin embedded tissue for histopathological diagnosis, here termed conventional histological technique (CT), whether performed manually or using an automated system, requires approximately 12 h. We developed earlier a rapid acetone dehydration technique (AT) for processing biopsies of nervous tissue that meets requirements for preserving tissue morphology and staining properties, and reduces processing time to 3.3 h. We compared the morphology and staining properties of human organ biopsies including adrenal gland, liver, ovary, pancreas, prostate, testis and thyroid prepared using both AT and CT. Following fixation with 10% formaldehyde and processing by either AT or CT, sections were stained using routine and special staining, and immunohistochemical methods. We evaluated nuclear and cytoplasmic staining, staining intensity, sharpness of images and presence of artifacts such as cracking and folding. AT preserved the morphology and staining properties of the tissues as well as CT. Consequently, the rapid AT procedure is a promising alternative technique for tissue processing.

Human amniotic membrane intra-articular injection prevents cartilage damage in an osteoarthritis model.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease that affects the soft tissues and bones of involved articulations as a result of deregulation between synthesis and extracellular matrix degradation in articular cartilage. The present study evaluated the effect of intra-articular injection of human amniotic membrane (AM) as a treatment in an OA animal model in the knee. Chemical OA was developed in the knees of New Zealand rabbits. Once OA was established, the right knees only were treated with an intra-articular injection of human AM, with the left knees considered as a negative control group. The evaluation was performed at 3 and 6 weeks post-treatment. At 3 weeks post-injection, the cartilage exhibited fibrillation, erosion, cracks and cell clusters in the negative control group, but not in the treated group (P=0.028). At 6 weeks post-injection, the left knees exhibited hypertrophy, cracks, cell clusters, decreased matrix staining and structure loss. However, the right knees exhibited cell clusters without evidence of disruption in cartilage integrity (P=0.015). These results suggested that the intra-articular injection of human AM delays histological changes of cartilage in OA.