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pH measurement as quality control on human post mortem brain tissue: a study of the BrainNet Europe consortium.

Author(s): Monoranu CM, Apfelbacher M, Grünblatt E, Puppe B, Alafuzoff I, Ferrer I, Al-Saraj S, Keyvani K, Schmitt A, Falkai P, Schittenhelm J, Halliday G, Kril J, Harper C, McLean C, Riederer P, Roggendorf W

Publication: Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol, 2009, Vol. 35, Page 329-37

PubMed ID: 19473297 PubMed Review Paper? No

Purpose of Paper

Conclusion of Paper

Studies

1. Study Purpose

   The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of patient age and gender, rapidity of death, brain ischemia, PMI, temperature of postmortem storage, freezing method, frozen storage duration and packaging, and freeze-thaw cycling on the pH of brain specimens. A total of 89 frozen brains (265 specimens) with no neural ischemia, 15 brains (48 specimens) with global ischemia and 12 brains (18 specimens) with localized ischemia were obtained from 8 European and 2 Australian BioBanks. The biobanks in Münster and Tübingen stored the bodies at room temperature until autopsy, while the remaining 8 biobanks stored the bodies at 4˚C. The biobanks in Göttingen and Münster froze the brains in liquid nitrogen while the remaining 8 biobanks froze them on dry ice. The biobanks in Würzburg (2 biobanks) and Barcelona stored brains in aluminum foil while the remaining 7 biobanks placed brains in plastic bags. Brain pH was determined after frozen storage.

   Summary of Findings:

   Mean pH was significantly lower in non-ischemic brain specimens from the biobanks in Würzburg Psychiatry and Göttingen than specimens from the other biobanks examined (p<0.001, both). It was noted that these specimens had been subjected to multiple free-thaw cycles, but the exact number of cycles was not specified. Although specimens with global ischemia had a lower mean pH than non-ischemic specimens (p<0.001), specimens with localized infarct had a higher mean pH than non-ischemic specimens (p<0.001). The pH was also lower in specimens from patients who had a prolonged illness rather than a sudden death (p<0.05), but pH levels were comparable in specimens following rapid or intermediate death. The mean pH of specimens from males was higher than females (p<0.001) and this difference was maintained throughout the age range examined. However, pH was unaffected by brain region, post-mortem interval (PMI), patient age, or the duration of frozen storage. The authors also report no effect of the temperature of postmortem storage, freezing method, or storing the brain in aluminum foil rather than plastic bags, but data was not presented.

   Biospecimens

   • Tissue - Brain

   Preservative Types

   • Frozen

   Diagnoses:

   • Autopsy
   • Cardiovascular Disease
   • Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
   • Neoplastic - Carcinoma
   • Asthma
   • Pneumonia/Respiratory Infection

   Platform:

   Analyte	Technology Platform
   Small molecule	pH

   Pre-analytical Factors:

   Classification	Pre-analytical Factor	Value(s)
   Preaquisition	Patient age	0-98 years
   Preaquisition	Postmortem interval	1-109 h
   Preaquisition	Patient gender	Female Male
   Preaquisition	Rapidity of death	Rapid death (agonal score = 1) Intermediate death (agonal score = 2) Slow death after prolonged terminal illness (agonal score = 3)
   Preaquisition	Diagnosis/ patient condition	No neural ischemia Infarct (regional ischemia) Global ischemia
   Biospecimen Acquisition	Biospecimen location	Frontal cortex Gyrus cinguli Striatum Cerebellum
   Biospecimen Acquisition	Locale of biospecimen collection	Barcelona London Kuopio Würzburg Neuro-pathology Würzburg Psychiatry Göttingen Tübingen Münster Sydney Victoria
   Biospecimen Preservation	Cooling or freezing method/ rate	Dry ice Liquid nitrogen
   Storage	Storage duration	0-156 months
   Storage	Type of storage container	Aluminum foil Plastic bag
   Storage	Freeze/thaw cycling	1 cycle Multiple cycles
   Preaquisition	Postmortem condition(s)	Stored at room temperature Stored at 4˚C

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