INTERPHASE FLUORESCENCE IN-SITU HYBRIDIZATION ANALYSIS - A STUDY USING CENTROMERIC PROBE-7, PROBE-8, AND PROBE-12

Interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (I-FISH) is a useful tec hnique for detecting chromosomal numerical abnormalities in tumors and is gaining acceptance as a tool in cytogenetics and clinical diagnose s. Performance and quality control information about commercial produc ts are necessary in order to implement an individual FISH probe as a r outine clinical laboratory test. Interphase FISH analysis was performe d with three commercially available alpha-satellite chromosome-specifi c DNA centromeric probes (D7Z1/D7Z2; D8Z2; and D12Z3) on bone marrow m aterial prepared for conventional cytogenetic analysis. The results we re interpreted following enumeration of the signals in 500 interphase nuclei each by two different observers. A mean of 93.92 percent (+/-1. 3 percent, 1 SD) was found for chromosome 7; a mean of 93.91 percent ( +/-1.5 percent, 1 SD) was found for chromosome 8, and a mean of 92.85 percent (+/-1.4 percent, 1 SD) was found for chromosome 12. The result s of the study demonstrated that I-FISH using chromosome centromeric p robe(s) is a reliable, reproducible, and accurate technique. This tech nique can be integrated into routine clinical practice with proper qua lity control protocols.