Histologic and Quality Assessment of Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) Research Samples: A Large Postmortem Tissue Collection.

Context.—: The National Institutes of Health Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project was developed to elucidate how genetic variation influences gene expression in multiple normal tissues procured from postmortem donors.

Objective.

Impact of Preanalytical Factors on the Measurement of Tumor Tissue Biomarkers Using Immunohistochemistry.

Analysis of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue by immunohistochemistry (IHC) is commonplace in clinical and research laboratories. However, reports suggest that IHC results can be compromised by biospecimen preanalytical factors. The National Cancer Institute's Biospecimen Preanalytical Variables Program conducted a systematic study to examine the potential effects of delay to fixation (DTF) and time in fixative (TIF) on IHC using 24 cancer biomarkers.

The Biospecimen Preanalytical Variables Program: A Multiassay Comparison of Effects of Delay to Fixation and Fixation Duration on Nucleic Acid Quality.

Context.—: Despite widespread use of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue in clinical and research settings, potential effects of variable tissue processing remain largely unknown.

Objective.

A Novel Approach to High-Quality Postmortem Tissue Procurement: The GTEx Project.

The Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project, sponsored by the NIH Common Fund, was established to study the correlation between human genetic variation and tissue-specific gene expression in non-diseased individuals. A significant challenge was the collection of high-quality biospecimens for extensive genomic analyses. Here we describe how a successful infrastructure for biospecimen procurement was developed and implemented by multiple research partners to support the prospective collection, annotation, and distribution of blood, tissues, and cell lines for the GTEx project.