DNA histogram debris theory and compensation.

In this paper we describe a theory of DNA histogram debris generation and compensation that can be applied to paraffin-embedded frozen tissue preparations. The theory predicts the distribution of fragments generated from single and multiple random sectioning of three-dimensional ellipsoids representing nuclei. The fragment distribution is assumed to be a major component of the underlying debris in DNA histograms. A comparison of S-phase fractions (SPF) from matched tissue prepared by frozen and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded DNA methods demonstrates the usefulness of the theory.