Tissue transfers. Substrates for cytology and cytochemistry of animal tissues

The Tissue Transfer Technique (TTT) is a novel method of sampling animal tissue that can be used to study tissue morphology, chemistry and physiology. This review provides an overview of the technique and demonstrates its use to detect the tissue distribution of specific epitopes, lectin binding sites and nucleic acids as well as its application as an organ monolayer in culture. These applications are compared and contrasted with standard histological techniques including the "Tissue Printing Technique" developed to sample plant tissue

The cellular matrix: a feature of tensile bearing dense soft connective tissues

The term connective tissue encompasses a d iverse group of tissues that reside in dif f e r e n t e nvironments and must support a spectrum of mechanical functions. Although the extracellular matrix of these tissues is well described, the cellular architecture of these tissues and its relationship to tissue function has only recently become the focus of study. It n ow appears that tensile-bearing dense connective tissues may be a specific class of connective tissues that display a common cellular organization characterized by fusiform cells with cytoplasmic projections and ga p junctions. These cells with their cellular projections are organised into a complex 3-dimensional network leading to a phy s i c a l l y, chemically and electrically connected cellular matrix. The cellular matrix may play essential roles in extracellular matrix formation, maintenance and remodelling, mechanotransduction and during injury and healing. Thus, it is likely that it is the interaction of both the extracellular matrix and cellular matrix that provides the basis for tissue function. Restoration of both these matrices, as well as their interaction must be the goal of strategies to repair these connective tissues damaged by either injury or disease