Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 7, 2026

Anti-Nuclear Antibody Screening Using HEp-2 Cells
Published on: June 23, 2014
Patterns of argyrophilic nucleolar organiser regions in pleural and peritoneal effusions
Saeed Akhtar Khan1, Naseer Ahmed Chaudhry, Abdul Wadood Khalid
1Department of Pathology, University of Health Sciences, Lahore. drsaeedhisto@hotmail.com
Objective:
To evaluate AgNOR size and dispersion as alternate methods to AgNOR counts in order to differentiate malignant from non-malignant effusions.
Design:
Comparative study.
Place And Duration Of Study:
Department of Pathology, Postgraduate Medical Institute, Lahore, from January 2003 to June 2004.
Materials And Methods:
A total of 240 samples of pleural and peritoneal effusions were centrifuged, deposits smeared on slides and stained with H and E and AgNOR stain. The diagnosis of malignancy or otherwise was made on H and E staining. AgNOR counts, variation in size and dispersion of AgNOR dots in smears were graded and compared in malignant and non-malignant effusions.
Results:
Mean AgNOR counts of 11.47+/-3.60 and 11.04+/-3.89 in malignant pleural and peritoneal effusions, respectively, were significantly (p<0.0001) greater as compared with counts of 3.36+/-0.69 and 3.35+/-0.66 in non-malignant effusions. AgNOR size and dispersion were of higher grade in significantly greater proportion of malignant as compared with non-malignant effusions (p<0.0001).
Conclusion:
Typing of AgNOR size and dispersion was found to be an easy and reproducible alternative to traditional AgNOR counts for differentiating malignant from non-malignant effusions. These parameters should be correlated with already established but expensive techniques of AgNOR area and size imaging by electron microscopy and flow cytometry, as an economical alternative.
Related Concept Videos
The Nucleolus
Pleural Effusion I: Introduction
There are two main types of pleural effusion: transudative and exudative. They are differentiated using Light's criteria,...
Additional Subnuclear Structures
The nucleus contains many membrane-less subnuclear organelles or nuclear bodies, such as nucleoli, Cajal bodies, speckles, paraspeckles, etc. These nuclear...
Chromatin Position Affects Gene Expression
Topologically Associated Domains (TADs)
The 3-dimensional positioning of chromatin in the nucleus influences the timing and level of...
Pleural Effusion II: Symptoms and Management
A pleural effusion is the abnormal collection of fluid between the parietal and visceral pleura layers of tissue that form the lining of the lungs and chest cavity. It can occur independently or due to surrounding parenchymal diseases, such as infection, malignancy, or inflammatory conditions.
Clinical Manifestations:
Pleura of the Lungs

