Biorepository & Tissue Analysis Shared Resource

The Biorepository & Tissue Analysis (BTA) Shared Resource, a National Cancer Institute CCSG-supported shared resource, provides investigators with access to meticulously collected and annotated human specimens as well as advanced human and animal tissue analyses that require state-of-the-art instrumentation and expertise. The shared resource comprises several integrated components, including biospecimen and data repository and customized histology services such as immunohistochemical and multispectral analysis. Our facility comprises 1,052 sq ft dedicated to clinical sample processing and tissue analysis on the 7th floor of MUSC Hollings Cancer Center and 668 sq ft designated as a freezer farm for clinical sample storage on the 7th floor of the Basic Science Building.

Contact Information | Services | Equipment & Instrumentation | Publication Acknowledgement | Fee Schedules

Staff

Services

The BTA Shared Resource offers a wide range of services for researchers.

Letter of Support

We can provide a letter of support (LOS) prior to submitting a grant proposal.

To request this service, log in to Infinity and select BTA Letter of Support.

Consultation

For projects that involve BTA services, such as clinical sample collection, histologic service, and multispectral imaging, we offer consultation prior to initiation of the project.

To request this service, log in to Infinity and select BTA Consult Request.

Clinical Sample Request

When researchers request clinical samples linked with clinico-demographic data, the BTA Shared Resource will serve as an honest broker and provide de-identified clinical data to researchers upon receipt of appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval. The BTA Shared Resource maintains IRB approval for a blanket consent that permits the procurement of biospecimens for general banking to be used for future research. The blanket consent also allows patients to continue donating specimens that are stored for an unlimited amount of time unless the patient withdraws the consent.

Available Clinical Tissue and Blood Samples

Anatomic Site	Number Available	Anatomic Site	Number Available	Anatomic Site	Number Available	Anatomic Site	Number Available	Anatomic Site	Number Available
Bladder	418	Kidney	873
Brain	1078	Spinal Cord	34	Pituitary Gland	125
Breast	389
Bone	25
Cervix	37	Uterus	655	Endometrium	268	Ovaries	314
Esophagus	29	Stomach, Small Intestine	168	Colon	215	Rectum	137	Anal Canal	6
Head & Neck	161	Nasal	37	Oral	401	Oropharynx	58	Larynx & Vocal Cord	165
Thyroid & Parathyroid	742	Salivary Gland	147	Sinus	21
Leukemia	542
Liver	230
Lung	524
Skin	93	Melanoma	37
Pancreas	387
Prostate	908
Sarcoma	147

To request this service, log in to Infinity and select Biorepository Sample Request.

Prospective Tumor Sample Collection

For projects requiring prospectively collected fresh tumor tissue for patient-derived organoids, PDX mouse models, tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte harvesting, etc, the BTA Shared Resource will collect the sample of interest in the appropriate medium provided by the researcher. For such projects, either BTA consent or project-specific consent can be utilized. Clinician-scientist collaboration is required to identify the patient and inform the BTA Shared Resource of the surgical date and time to obtain a specific tumor sample.

To request this service, log in to Infinity and select Prospective Tumor Sample Collection.

Clinical Trial Sample Processing and PBMC Isolation

For clinical investigators engaged in clinical trials, the BTA Shared Resource will perform simple sample processing, such as buffy coat separation and PBMC isolation. Upon completion of processing, the investigator or the coordinators will be contacted immediately for pickup.

PBMC isolation can be requested for non-clinical trial projects.

To request this service, log in to Infinity and select Clinical Trials Sample Processing / PBMC Isolation.

Histology and Immunohistochemistry (IHC)

Both human and mouse tissue analysis require high-quality tissue and IHC staining to measure marker expression levels accurately. The research pathologist will first perform H&E-based histopathological quality control of tissues. This includes verifying disease, evaluating tissue quality, and assessing the percentage of tumors in each sample. Immunohistochemistry staining, scoring, and image capture will be performed in tissues that passed the quality control assessment.

The BTA Shared Resource also offers embedding of the tissues in paraffin or OCT, sectioning of paraffin-embedded and frozen tissues, H&E staining, deparaffinization, macrodissection of tissue, and antibody optimization. If applicable, please provide the antibody for IHC analysis. Review the list of antibodies already optimized and validated by BTA and if the antibody is not on the list, please select antibody optimization service in addition to IHC staining.

To request this service, log in to Infinity and select Histology Services & IHC.

Multispectral Imaging

Quantitative multiplex immunofluorescence (qmIF) is a powerful technique that allows researchers to visualize and analyze multiple markers simultaneously on a single tissue slide. Multiple antibodies with fluorophores are utilized to detect target-specific proteins, allowing quantification of cells by their phenotypes. We offer 6-plex multispectral imaging (one DAPI, 6 markers).

 

Tumor-Infiltrating T-cell Panel

Markers	Function
Pan-cytokeratin (CK)	Carcinoma (tumor)
CD8+Granzyme B+	Activated cytotoxic T-cells
CD8+Granzyme B-	Inactive cytotoxic T-cells
CD4+CD27-Foxp3-	Activated helper T-cells
CD4+FoxP3+	Regulatory T-cells (inactive helper T-cells)
CD8+CRCR+	Memory (stem cell-like and central memory) cytotoxic T-cells
CD4+CRCR+	Memory (stem cell-like and central memory) helper T-cells

References:

• Maibach et al, 2020 https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2020.02105/full

• Gattinoni et al, 2017 https://www.nature.com/articles/nm.4241

• Tay et al, 2021 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41417-020-0183-x

Please provide the primary antibody. The BTA Shared Resource will bulk purchase the Opal fluorophores on behalf of the investigators. Review the list of optimized antibodies and fluorophores, and if using fluorophores other than Opal, both the primary antibody and the fluorophores must be provided to BTA.

To request this service, log in to Infinity and select Multispectral Imaging.

Equipment & Instrumentation

The BTA Shared Resource is equipped with the technology to assist researchers in tissue analysis, tumor biospecimen and data repository, and the expertise to perform these services.

Available instruments include:

• Cryostat
• Light microscope
• -80^oC freezer (located in the freezer farm in Basic Science Building, 7th Floor). The investigator is responsible for placing, organizing, and retrieving the samples in the freezer, in the area designated by BTA. Please contact BTA before the sample retrieval.
• Phenochart: A slide viewer for scans created by PhenoImager to annotate the areas of interest for downstream analysis. *1-hour mandatory training prior to use.
• InForm: An automated image analysis software for visualizing and quantifying biomarkers. *1-hour mandatory training prior to use.

To request equipment use, log in to Infinity and select Instruments.

If you are an investigator planning to develop a non-cancer-related biobank and wish to use FreezerWorks software to track the specimens, it is available for a shared renewal contract fee.

Publication Acknowledgement

If you publish a manuscript including research supported by the Biorepository & Tissue Analysis Shared Resource, the Hollings Cancer Center recommends the following text to be placed in the acknowledgement section: "Supported in part by the Biorepository & Tissue Analysis Shared Resource, Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina (P30 CA138313)."

Fee Schedules

Biorepository Fees

Biorepository Services	Unit	Fee
Letter of Support (LOS) request	1	$0
Project consultation	1	$0
Tissue and/or bodily fluid specimens (per aliquot) paired with clinical data	1x aliquot	$63.03
Clinical sample consent and/or collection (per visit)	1x visit	$63.03
Clinical sample basic processing (per sample)	1x sample	$63.03
PBMC Isolation (per sample)	1x sample	$163.83
Tissue paraffin embedding (per block)	1x block	$94.26
Paraffin tissue sectioning (per block)	1x block	$7.75
Frozen tissue sectioning (per block)	1x block	$7.75
Paraffin or OCT block set up and facing (per block)	1x block	$94.26
H & E staining (per slide)	1x slide	$7.75
Deparaffinization (per block)	1x block	$94.26
Pathology verification and macrodissection of tissue sample (per slide)	1x slide	$371.55
Immunohistochemistry (per slide)	1x slide	$371.55
Antibody optimization (per antibody)	1x antibody	$371.55
Multiplex immunofluorescence staining (maximum of 6-plex per slide) *Please bring primary antibodies. The fluorophores will be bulk ordered.	1x slide	$161.96
Multiplex immunofluorescence scanning (per slide) *The scanned image will only be stored for up to 6 months. Please bring a USB drive to export the image.	1x slide	$47.86
Multiplex immunofluorescence analysis (per slide)	1x slide	$371.55
Pathology image taking (per hour)	1x hour	$371.55
Pathology image analysis of tissues/IHC scoring (per hour)	1x hour	$371.55

Instrument Fees

Instruments	Unit	Fee
Cryostat	30-min	$20
Microscope	30-min	$0
Clinical sample storage using -80oC freezer (per sample per month)	1x sample	TBD
Phenochart *The first hour must be training.	1x training 1x hour	TBD TBD
inForm *The first hour must be training.	1x training 1x hour	TBD TBD