Augustin:

    I believe that bromodeoxyuridine is a more accurate index of mitotic
activity, but I can't remember the citation right now. Actually seeing mitotic
figures is difficult, they don't last long! S-phase often lasts 10-12 hours,
mitosis lasts 20 minutes so incorporation of something into the DNA during
S-phase is the way to go. The "old" way with tritiated thymidine autoradiography
has problems due to disposal of animals and contaminated reagents.

Agustín Venzano wrote:

> Dear netters: I'm planning a sampling of ruminal papillae (i.e. special
> structures endowed with epithelium and lamina propria located in the largest
> forestomach of ruminants) in young cattle. The project is aimed at defining
> the growth rate of these structures specialised in nutrients absorption, so
> it is necessary to estimate the mitotic index. My questions are:
>
> 1.What staining would you prefer for seeing DNA and mitosis?
> 2. Do you consider c-kit to be an adequate marker of the mitotic rate
> through IHC in paraffin blocks?
>
> Thank you in advance
>
> Sincerely yours
>
> Agustin Jose Venzano Halliburton
> DVM-Pathology Group
> INTA, Argentina

Geoff
--
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Geoff McAuliffe, Ph.D.
Neuroscience and Cell Biology
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
675 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08854
voice: (732)-235-4583; fax: -4029
mcauliff@umdnj.edu
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