Recipient Block TMA Technique

Abstract

New high-throughput screening technologies have led to the identification of hundreds of genes with a potential role in cancer or other diseases. One way to prioritize the leads obtained in such studies is to analyze a large number of tissues for candidate gene expression. The TMA methodology is now an established and frequently used tool for high-throughput tissue analysis. The recipient block technology is the "classical" method of TMA making. In this method, minute cylindrical tissue punches typically measuring 0.6 mm in diameter are removed from donor tissue blocks and are transferred into empty "recipient" paraffin blocks. Up to 1,000 different tissues can be analyzed in one TMA block. The equipment is affordable and easy to use in places where basic skills in histology are available.