The purpose of this new core is to provide expertise and resources in all aspects of in situ characterization of intact tissue at both transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. The Core thus facilitates interactive research that requires the following analyses: interpretation of pathological alterations by conventional and microscopy and transmission electron microscopy; immunohistochemistry; immunofluorescence; TUNEL labeling; in situ hybridization; and laser capture microdissection for RT-PCR, microarray, and proteomic analyses. The Core emphasizes coordinated use of several of these approaches as well as use of double/multiple simultaneous labels to address more precisely define pathogenic tissue alterations. Image analysis technology is also utilized to quantify and expedite the various analyses available through this Core.