Figure 3
Comparison of tumor cell mRNA stability in BCTs and K 3 EDTA tubes. MCF-7 cells spiked into K3EDTA and BCT plasma were isolated at indicated time points and cytospin samples were prepared as described in the “Materials and Methods” section. MCF-7 cells on cytospin were stained with fluorescent-labeled molecular beacons for c-fos (green fluorescence) and cyclin D1 (red fluorescence) mRNAs. The confocal microscopic images show that c-fos and cyclin D1 mRNA levels did not change in tumor cells incubated in plasma from BCT at RT for 4 days. However, tumor cells incubated in K3EDTA plasma for 4 days at RT showed a decrease in fluorescence for c-fos mRNA compared to day 0 fluorescence but cyclin D1 mRNA showed a slight increase upon storage at RT for 4 days. Original magnification × 40. Representative staining results from 3 independent experiments.