Software for quantitative immunogold and in situ hybridization

A well-deserved criticism of stereology is that it is often too difficult to understand and use. Nevertheless, it is rapidly becoming one of the most effective ways of collecting and interpreting structural data in experimental biology. Recent breakthroughs in theory have produced a remarkable set of tools that can be used to engineer new methods. The dilemma remains, however, in that some of these new methods continue to be too difficult to understand and use. One solution to this growing problem of technology transfer might be to simplify the methods with computer software. To test this idea, programs were written for quantitative immunogold and in situ hybridization. Simulators were used to develop and test new experimental designs, which, in turn, were translated into step-by-step laboratory tool kits. This paper shows how these tool kits can turn two-dimensional section data into estimates for the number of labeled molecules in three-dimensional organelles, cells, tissues, and organs. The results indicate that software can identify the key data of an experiment and reduce the computational requirements of a new stereological method to entering constants and variables into data entry forms.