A New Medium (HistoCold) for Surgical Specimens Preserving to Improve the Preanalytic Issues in Histopathological Samples Handling: Morphologic and Antigenic Analysis.

Introduction: The onset of precision medicine has led to the integration of traditional morphologic tissues evaluation with biochemical and molecular data for a more appropriate pathological diagnosis. The preanalytic phase and, particularly, timing of cold ischemia are crucial to guarantee high-quality biorepositories of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues for patients' needs and scientific research. However, delayed fixation using the gold-standard and carcinogenic fixative neutral-buffered formalin (NBF) can be a significant limitation to diagnosis and biopathological characterization. HistoCold (patented; Bio-Optica Milano S.p.A., Milano, Italy) is a nontoxic, stable, and refrigerated preservative solution for tissue handling. This study examined HistoCold's potential role in improving the preanalytic phase of the pathological diagnostic process. Materials and Methods: Breast, lung, or colorectal cancers (20, 25, and 10 cases, respectively) that were to be surgically resected were recruited between 2019 and 2021. Once specimens were surgically removed, three residual samples for each patient were first promptly immersed into HistoCold for 24, 48, and 72 hours and then FFPE. These were compared with routine specimens regarding morphologic features (hematoxylin and eosin) and tissue antigenicity (immunohistochemical stains). Results: Good concordance regarding both the morphologic characteristics of the neoplasms and their proteins expression between the routine and HistoCold handled tissues were found. The tissue handling with the solution never affected the histopathological diagnosis. Conclusions: The use of HistoCold for samples transporting is easy, allows for improving the management of cold ischemia time, and monitoring the fixation times in NBF, resulting in good quality tissue blocks for biobanking. Moreover, it could be a candidate to eliminate formalin from operating theaters. HistoCold looks very promising for the preanalytic phase of human tissues handling in the era of precision medicine, to provide the best service to patients, and to scientific research.

Protective effects of platelet-rich plasma against lidocaine cytotoxicity on canine articular chondrocytes.

BACKGROUND: Lidocaine (LD) is one of the most commonly used local anesthetics for performing arthroscopic surgery and managing of osteoarthritic pain in both human and veterinary medicine. However, over the last years, several studies have focused on the chondrotoxic effects of LD. In order to ensure that intra-articular lidocaine is safe to use, treatments aimed at mitigating chondrocyte death have recently been investigated. The aim of this study is to evaluate the possible protective effects of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) against LD cytotoxicity on canine articular chondrocytes. RESULTS: Articular canine chondrocytes, were exposed to 1% or 1.8% LD alone or in co-presence with 10% PRP for 30 min. In order to evaluate the effects of PRP pre-treatments, experiments were carried out on cells cultured in serum-free medium-or in medium supplemented with 10% PRP or 10% fetal bovine serum. Cell viability was evaluated by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay and cell apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry using annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide. The results showed that LD significantly reduced canine chondrocytes viability, probably due to apoptosis induction. Pre-treatment or the co-presence of PRP in the media restored the number of viable chondrocytes. The PRP also seemed to protect the cells from LD-induced apoptosis. CONCLUSIONS: Pre-treatments and/or the simultaneous administration of PRP reduced LD-induced cytotoxicity in canine chondrocytes. Further in vivo studies are required to determine whether PRP can be used as a save protective treatment for dogs receiving intra-articular LD injections.

Influence of lipoproteins at dry-off on metabolism of dairy cows during transition period and on postpartum reproductive outcomes.

High-yielding dairy cows are metabolically challenged during transition, when intense mobilization and hepatic oxidation of lipids is achieved, thus leading to fatty infiltration, ketosis and generalized inflammation. The condition is associated to periparturient diseases and poor fertility. The aim of this study was to assess whether serum lipoprotein concentrations in the dry period could influence the occurrence of postpartum diseases and reproductive performance in dairy cows. The study was carried out on 30 multiparous Holstein Friesian cows. Blood samples were collected at dry-off (-60 days), 30 days after dry-off and within 12 h after parturition for biochemical and serum lipoprotein assays. From 10 to 60 days after parturition milk was collected twice weekly after feeding, for milk whey progesterone assay. The Optimal Cutpoint package identified a threshold of 89% for serum High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) concentration at the beginning of the dry period with 95% of confidence interval. Cows with serum HDL greater than 89% (High group, n = 10) showed better reproductive performance when compared to those with low values (Low group, n = 18). The odds ratio for reproductive disorders in High group was 0.6875, however, differences were not significant probably due to both the reduced number of animals per group and overall low incidence of postpartum reproductive disease. First postpartum luteal activity occurred around day 23, while the second one between days 40 and 48. The average calving to first AI interval was 64.00 ± 3.95 days and 94.50 ± 12.32 days in High and Low group, respectively (P < 0.05). The calving-conception interval was 129.86 ± 24.42 days and 199.18 ± 24.73 days in High and Low groups, respectively (P < 0.05). Low group displayed an increase in liver markers, that is total bilirubin, with 0.46 ± 0.09 mg/dL and 0.23 ± 0.08 mg/dL, in Low and High group respectively (P < 0.05), and NEFA/cholesterol ratio, with 0.30 ± 0.06 and 0.14 ± 0.03, in Low and High groups, respectively (P < 0.05), at parturition. Concentrations of HDL >89% at dry-off could be suggestive of improved liver adaptation to the transition, and probably of enhanced fertility in High group.