REVIEW ARTICLE

Laser-mediated microdissection for analysis of gene expression in synovial tissue

Authors

Atsushi Hashimoto¹, Toshimichi Matsui¹, Sumiaki Tanaka¹, Akira Ishikawa¹, Hirahito Endo¹, Shunsei Hirohata¹, Hirobumi Kondo², Elena Neumann^3,4, Ingo Helmut Tarner^3,4 and Ulf Muller-Ladner^3,4

1. Department of Rheumatology and Infectious Diseases, Kitasato University School of Medicine, 1-15-1 Kitasato, Sagamihara 228-8555, Japan
2. Department of Internal Medicine, Kitasato Institute Medical Center Hospital, Kitamoto, Japan
3. Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen, Giessen, Germany
4. Kerckhoff-Klinik, Bad Nauheim, Germany

Received:

29 January 2007

Accepted:

20 March 2007

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Abstract

In experimental rheumatology, transcriptomics is one of the most important methods for investigating the pathogenesis of diseases. The biological material of most studies on rheumatoid arthritis has been bulk rheumatoid synovial tissues, but they are not suitable because they consist of several kinds of cells or structures. Laser-mediated microdissection (LMM) is a useful tool for isolating particular cells from tissue specimen to assess the functions of each cell. The LMM system employs a combination of a microscope and a laser-beam generator to cut out target areas on cryosections. Tissue compartments or even a single viable cell can be isolated using a non-focused laser beam without direct contact to avoid contamination, and this process is called laser pressure catapulting. An ultraviolet-A laser enables target cells to be procured without any influence on the surrounding. This technique has already been used in several studies in rheumatology, and its validity has been confirmed. Combined with other new techniques such as real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction or microarray analysis, LMM is becoming more important in the analysis of gene expression in rheumatology.

Key words

Laser capture microdissection - Laser-mediated microdissection - Rheumatoid arthritis