Figure 3

Viability of cultivated tissue slices: Tumor slices obtained from a breast carcinoma were individually cultivated in 1 ml medium for 24 hours. Slices were then analyzed for cell viability or cultivated for additional 72 hours or 144 hours as indicated. (a) Representative example of a tissue slice stained with Picogreen, SYTO^®63, and TMRM. (b) Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining of a section from a paraffin embedded tissue slice after a culture period of 96 hours in comparison to that observed in a section obtained from the same tumor directly after surgery ('original' tumor sample). (c) Cell viability after an ex vivo cultivation period of 24 and 96 hours determined by TMRM, SYTO^®63, and Picogreen labeling. (d) Quantification of cell death (number of visually counted Picogreen⁺ cells in relation to the number of total cells in 3 different areas) in non fixed tumor slices from 6 patients. Values reflect means ± SEM (n = 6). (e) Ratio of luminescence based quantification of ATP to DNA content of homogenates from slices cultivated for 24, 96, or 144 hours. (Data of a representative experiment shown).