A DNA-Based Biological Sample Tracking Method

Sample Confirmation Testing: A Short Tandem Repeat-Based Quality Assurance and Quality Control Procedure for the eyeGENE Biorepository

Quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) procedures are vital to good biorepository management. The National Eye Institute (NEI) core CLIA-certified laboratory of the eyeGENE(®) Network receives blood from individuals with inherited eye conditions and isolates DNA for clinical genetic diagnostic testing and research. Clinical genetic test results are returned to the affected individuals, making it imperative that sample integrity is preserved throughout laboratory processing. A clinically validated, short tandem repeat (STR)-based approach, termed Sample Confirmation Testing (SCT), was developed to ensure that no significant laboratory errors occurred during processing. SCT uses modified protocols from commercial kits to create and compare STR profiles for each participant's original blood and derived DNA. This QA/QC procedure has been performed on 47% of the more than 6000 participants in the eyeGENE Biorepository and has identified significant laboratory errors in 0.4% of samples tested. SCT improves the quality of the data returned to affected individuals and the data distributed to researchers using eyeGENE samples by ensuring the integrity of the samples and aiding in curation of the biorepository. This approach serves as a model for other repositories to improve sample quality and management procedures.

How to design biospecimen identifiers and integrate relevant functionalities into your biospecimen management system

Effective tracking of biospecimens within a biobank requires that each biospecimen has a unique identifier (ID). This ID can be found on the sample container as well as in the biospecimen management system. In the latter, the biospecimen ID is the key to annotation data such as location, quality, and sample processing. Guidelines such as the Best Practices from the International Society of Biological and Environmental Repositories only state that a unique identifier should be issued for each sample. However, to our knowledge, all guidelines lack a specific description of how to actually generate such an ID and how this can be supported by an IT system. Here, we provide a guide for biobankers on how to generate a biospecimen ID for your biobank. We also provide an example of how to apply this guide using a longitudinal multi-center research project (and its biobank). Starting with a description of the biobank's purpose and workflows through to collecting requirements from stakeholders and relevant documents (i.e., guidelines or data protection concepts), and existing IT-systems, we describe in detail how a concept to develop an ID system can be developed from this information. The concept contains two parts: one is the generation of the biospecimen ID according to the requirements of stakeholders, existing documentation such as guidelines or data protection concepts, and existing IT-infrastructures, and the second is the implementation of the biospecimen IDs and related functionalities covering the handling of individual biospecimens within an existing biospecimen management system. From describing the concept, the article moves on to how the new concept supports both existing or planned biobank workflows. Finally, the implementation and validation step is outlined to the reader and practical hints are provided for each step.

Biospecimens and biorepositories: from afterthought to science

Biospecimens are recognized as critical components of biomedical research, from basic studies to clinical trials and epidemiologic investigations. Biorepositories have existed in various forms for more than 150 years, from early small collections in pathology laboratories to modern automated facilities managing millions of samples. As collaborative science has developed, it has been recognized that biospecimens must be of consistent quality. Recent years have seen a proliferation of best practices and the recognition of the field of "biospecimen science." The future of this field will depend on the development of more evidence-based practices in both the research and clinical settings. As the field matures, educating a new generation of biospecimen/biobanking scientists will be an important need.

Biorepository standards and protocols for collecting, processing, and storing human tissues

Recent advances in high-throughput assays for gene expression (genomics), proteins (proteomics), and metabolites (metabolomics) have engendered a parallel need for well-annotated human biological samples. Samples from both diseased and unaffected normal tissues are often required. Biorepositories consist of a specimen bank linked to a database of information. Assuring chain of custody and annotation of samples with relevant clinical information is required. The value of samples to end users is generally commensurate with the quality and extent of relevant clinical data included with the samples. Procurement of tissues is often done with parallel pre- and/or post-treatment venipuncture to obtain blood and tissue samples from the same subject. Biorepositories must also process, preserve, and distribute samples to end users. Like traditional libraries, biorepositories are meant to be used, and they are most useful when the needs of end users (researchers) are considered in the planning and development process. Ethics review and an awareness of regulatory requirements for storage, transport, and distribution are required. In the USA, Institutional Review Boards are the local regulatory entities that review protocols for banking of human biological tissues. Governmental and professional agencies and organizations provide some guidelines for standard operating procedures. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers For Disease Control (CDC), and professional organizations such as the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB), the American Association of Blood Banks, The International Red Cross, International Society for Biological Repositories (ISBER) and other organizations provide guidelines for biorepositories and banking of human tissues (see Table 1). To date, these guidelines are directed largely toward procurement, banking, and distribution of human tissues for therapeutic uses. In the international setting, the World Health Organization provides ethical guidelines for procurement and operating procedures. The most commonly available tissues are formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues (FFPET). While FFPET can be used for immunohistochemistry, certain DNA-based assays, and even RNA, frozen tissues are best suited for isolation and characterization of proteins and RNA. Freezers, back-up systems, monitors, and alarm systems and appropriate physical security are needed for long-term storage of frozen tissues. Other storage formats such as blotting onto filter paper for storage at room temperature are more commonly used for blood and can provide important "fingerprinting" for chain of custody, linking a given subject to a tissue sample.