Preparation of tissues for DNA flow cytometric analysis.

A method for measuring DNA in tissue cells by flow cytometry utilizing a one step combination nuclear isolation-DNA fluorochrome staining procedure is described. A variety of cells and tissues, both in vivo and in vitro, was used to illustrate the universal nature of this technique. These included murine bone marrow, liver testicle, sarcoma brain tumor, rat pancreatic islets, human peripheral blood, colon mucosa, colon cancer, sarcoma and brain tumor tissues. A special nuclear isolation medium, which contained either of the DNA fluorochromes, 4',6-diamidino-2 phenylindole-2 HCl or propidium iodide, was utilized successfully to isolate single suspensions of DNA fluorochrome stained nuclei in a rapid (5-10 min), consistent manner from a variety of tissues and cells. Multiple sampling of the same tissue or comparison between whole tissues and their single cell isolates showed that a representative sample was being obtained.