Does RNAlater® Solution Preserve the Histology of Tissues?
Recent research by Drs. Scott Florell and Sancy Leachman at the Huntsman Cancer Institute [Florell et al. (2001) Mod Pathol 14:116-128] demonstrate that RNAlater® solution does preserve the histology of tissues. A blinded study was performed, in which 2 pathologists compared human tissue sections that were either immediately processed for histology (fixed in formalin and embedded in paraffin, or frozen sectioned) to samples stored in RNAlater® solution, rinsed, and then processed for histology. Their results indicate that morphological detail and staining characteristics were identical for the 2 groups of samples. An example of their findings is presented in Figure 4. In addition to excellent staining and preservation of morphological detail, many immunohistological stains performed equally well in the RNAlater®-preserved samples, suggesting preservation in RNAlater® solution caused no damage to cellular epitopes.
