Using a different form of FISH, called comparative genomic hybridization, investigators can identify chromosomal regions that are gained or lost in abnormal cells, including tumor cells. SKY technology, yet another form of FISH, is used to study more complex changes in genetic material because some of the probes it employs are labeled with not one but several colors. These multicolored probes bind to the chromosomes. After the SKY instrumentation processes this data, the result is a vivid, informative display. Using SKY, researchers can plainly see the chromosome rearrangements in a cell.
Normal chromosomes are each one color.
Abnormal chromosomes may be composed of two or more different colors, signifying their origination by mixing and matching of two or more different chromosomes. Recently, Pitt became the first test site in the United States for software-driven remote access to classical and molecular cytogenetic results. CytoNet software and the CytoVision system are produced by Applied Imaging, headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., with its North American sales office located in Pittsburgh. Not all institutions have cytogeneticists or cytogenetics laboratories for research applications. This software facilitates use of these shared resources by investigators at other institutions.