Abstract
Objective : Nucleic acid analysis is an important diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of disease or determining treatment options. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of the cell sample storage temperature on the nucleic acid quality in liquid-based cytology samples prepared using fixed in CytoRich Red.
Study Design : We investigated the effects of the storage temperature on the DNA yield and quality, as measured by the DNA integrity number (DIN) and purity (A260/A280). Culture cells (PC9) and clinical samples (n=11) were fixed overnight in CytoRich Red and then stored for up to 10 days at room temperature or at 4℃ in a refrigerator.
Results : The DNA quality of the PC9 cells fixed in CytoRich Red was adversely affected by storage at room temperature, but not by storage at 4℃ for up to 10 days. In the clinical samples also, the amount of extracted DNA decreased with storage at room temperature (p<0.001), whereas low temperature storage protected against DNA degradation in the samples, as assessed by measurement of the DIN and purity (A260/A280).
Conclusion : Since the storage temperature influences the nucleic acid quality of the samples, cytological samples should be stored under refrigeration at around 4℃.
