Flow cytometric DNA analysis on fine needle aspiration biopsies of liver lesions

Interphase cytogenetic analysis of lung adenocarcinomas with bronchioloalveolar pattern

Aneuploidy has been suggested as a marker for stratification of many neoplasms but its potential usefulness in adenocarcinoma (ADC) with bronchioloalveolar (BAC) pattern has not been well defined. We examined paraffin-embedded tissue sections from 28 cases of ADC with BAC pattern as well as 7 benign lung lesions and 9 normal lung tissue samples for chromosomal aneuploidy by in situ hybridization using digoxigenin-labelled probes for chromosomes 1 and X. Of the 28 ADC with BAC pattern, 17 (61%) were diploid and 11 (39%) were aneuploid. Of the 17 diploid cases, 7 (41%) were male and 10 (59%) were female and of the 11 aneuploid cases, 2 (18%) were male, 9 (82%) were female. Regarding the cell type, 24 (86%) were adenocarcinomas in situ (AIS) so called BAC and minimally invasive ADC (MIA), and 4 cases (14%) were invasive ADC. Of the 12 cases each of AIS and MIA, 9 (75%) and 8 (67%) had diploid pattern respectively. Of the 4 invasive ADC cases, all had aneuploid pattern. Seventeen cases (71%) with T1 tumor size (> 0 mm ≤30 mm), had diploid and 4 cases (100%) with T2 tumor size (> 30 mm ≤70 mm) had aneuploid pattern. Statistical analyses showed that nuclear diploidy was significantly correlated with AIS and MIA tumor types while aneuploidy correlated with invasive ADC type (P=0.025). Also a significant correlation was found between ploidy and tumor size (P=0.033). In conclusion, these findings suggest that DNA ploidy analysis provides useful information for the assessment of cellular kinetics and reflect histopathological subtypes in ADC with BAC pattern that are destined to behave aggressively.

Flow cytometry of fine-needle-aspiration biopsies: a new method to monitor the intrahepatic immunological environment in chronic viral hepatitis

Information about the character and grade of the intrahepatic immune response in viral hepatitis is important for the evaluation of disease stage and effect of therapy. Complications like haemorrhage limit the frequent performance of tissue-needle biopsies (TB), and the cells of peripheral blood have to be used as surrogate markers instead. Fine-needle-aspiration biopsy (FNAB) of the liver represents a safe and atraumatic method that allows frequent cytological sampling. Our aim was to investigate whether flow cytometry of FNAB specimens allows co-analysis of phenotype, function and specificity of key populations of liver-infiltrating lymphocytes (LIL). In 20 consecutive patients with chronic viral hepatitis [10 hepatitis B virus (HBV), 10 hepatitis C virus (HCV)], flow cytometry was performed on FNAB cytology, and simultaneously on lymphocytes isolated from a TB and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). The ratio of CD8+/CD4+ lymphocytes in FNAB correlated well with LIL from TB (r =0.78, P < 0.05) but differed from PBMC (mean ratio: 2.6, 2.1 and 0.7, respectively). Similarly, a correlation was observed for percentage CD56+ natural killer (NK) cells (mean %: 29.9, 32.3 and 14.5, respectively; r = 0.69, P < 0.05). The percentage of interferon (IFN)-gamma-producing CD3+ lymphocytes in both FNAB and TB was higher than in PBMC (mean %: 41, 44 and 22, respectively; P < 0.05). Furthermore, tetrameric complexes allowed analysis of HBV-specific T cells in FNAB specimens. In conclusion, flow cytometry of FNAB allows easy, atraumatic and reliable analysis of lymphocytes obtained from the intrahepatic compartment. Therefore, the FNAB is a valuable tool in the study of the immunopathology of viral hepatitis, and it may contribute to the improved clinical evaluation of chronic viral liver disease.