The Role of Biorepository Accreditation in Advancing Neurological Research

• CAP's Biorepository Accreditation Program

Becca Battisfore:

Welcome to the latest edition of the College of American Pathologist CAPcast. I'm Becca Battisfore, Content Specialist with the CAP. In this episode, we'll be talking to Dr. Nalin Leelatian about brain bank biorepositories and the CAP'S biorepository accreditation program. Before we get into the questions, Dr. Leelatian, please tell us a little about yourself.

Dr. Nalin Leelatian:

Hi, I am Nalin Leelatian. I'm a member of the CAP Biorepository Committee. I recently completed my fellowship in neuropathology from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and I am currently a molecular genetic pathology fellow at University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

Becca Battisfore:

Great. So let's dive into the questions. And first, let's just start off at the very basic, what is a neuro biobank?

Dr. Nalin Leelatian:

So neuro biobanks are biorepositories that collect and store brain tissue and samples. They are also often referred to as brain banks. These types of biorepositories are dedicated facilities for brain specimens or neuro related specimens. They can be standalone facilities that only store neuro specimens. They can also be part of programs that collect and store tissue from multiple organs and systems, including the nervous system.

While brain specimens often comprise a significant majority of specimens that are procured and stored in neuro biobanks, the type of specimens in neuro biobanks are not limited to only brain tissue. They can also include other types of specimens that are related to the nervous system, such as cerebral spinal fluid and spinal cord. In addition to carefully collecting and storing neuro specimens, neuro biobanks also distribute neuro specimens to qualified researchers for scientific investigations.

Becca Battisfore:

I see. And are there different types of neuro biobanks?

Dr. Nalin Leelatian:

Well, many biobanks handle neuro specimens obtained from donors with various disorders such as tumors, neurodegenerative disorders, movement disorders, or psychiatric disorders, some neuro biobanks, however, may only store neuro specimens from donors with specific disease entities such as neurodegenerative diseases or trauma related pathologies. Often neuro biobanks also store specimens from unaffected donors. These are donors that are not affected by neurological diseases, and the specimens are often used as controls during downstream investigations.

The type of neuro specimens that are procured and stored in neuro biobanks also differ. There are a number of neuro biobanks that store specimens that are obtained from living donors by surgical or medical procedures such as brain biopsies, tumor resections, lumbar punctures for cerebral spinals fluid. However, in some instances, or for certain disease entities, especially neurodegenerative diseases and trauma, the specimens that are procured are often whole brains or whole spinal cords, and these are obtained during autopsy performed on disease donors.

Becca Battisfore:

Great. Okay. So let's talk more specifically about the CAP'S Biorepository Accreditation Program and is that useful for neuro banks?

Dr. Nalin Leelatian:

Well, the general goal of the CAP Biorepository Accreditation Program is to ensure best practices for specimen collection, storage, documentation, as well as distribution of high-quality specimens for downstream scientific investigations. The BAP checklists also include comprehensive items that are universal for proficient biorepository lab practices. The checklists are not specific for certain types of specimen or types of biorepositories, but rather a comprehensive guide to ensure standardized and high-quality practices.

Neuro biobanks can certainly benefit from an elective participation in the CAP Biorepository Accreditation Program. This participation would include having access to the CAP best practices checklist. This guide includes practical items that are integrated from world renowned organizations such as the National Cancer Institute, ISO 20387 from the International Organization for Standardization. Cap Biorepository Accreditation Program is highly applicable to neuro biobanks that store and distribute neuro specimens for research purposes and can be referenced and applied towards banking of a number of neuro biospecimens, including human specimens such as brain tissue, cerebral spinal fluid, whole brains obtained from autopsy or even genetic material obtained from these sources.

Several of the currently accredited programs also store neuro materials. We recently had a communication with the biorepository leadership at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and their biorepository is accredited by the Cap BAP, and their facility has been procuring and storing neuro specimens for a number of years. From their experience, our checklists are very applicable to their neuro biobank.

Our program also includes peer-based inspections that occur every two years. This is to ensure that the biorepository is compliant with the program requirements. Our checklists are also reviewed and revised annually to ensure that the requirements in the checklists are up-to-date, best practices that are required by other organizations.

Becca Battisfore:

Are there current brain focus biorepositories accredited under this accreditation program?

Dr. Nalin Leelatian:

Well, several of the current BAP-accredited biorepositories do collect and store brain specimens alongside other types of biospecimens. A few of the currently accredited facilities are also focused biorepositories. Currently, these biorepositories largely focus on neuro-oncology biospecimens. However, the CAP BAP best practices checklists are applicable to biorepositories that focus on other neuro subspecialties, including neurotrauma and neurodegenerative diseases. And we hope that in the future, more facilities that are focused on those areas would benefit from the CAP BAP best practices checklist as well.

Becca Battisfore:

And finally, are there specific concerns that are more applicable to brain banking or neuropathology than liquid or solid tumor biobanking?

Dr. Nalin Leelatian:

The CAP BAP checklists include requirements for personnel qualifications, physical laboratory spaces, consented specimen procurement, long-term storage, as well as general safety policies. Handling of neuro specimen generally require standard safety procedures that are used for liquid and solid specimens obtained from other organs.

Generally, the safety procedures for handling of biospecimens are also applicable to neuro specimens. There are certain types of infectious diseases that are quite unique to neuro related specimens such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease or CJD. The CAP PAB includes a requirement around handling specimens that are potentially infectious. We are not prescriptive about the specific procedures or details for handling specific type of infectious diseases. As long as the biorepository has a written policy and approach that is approved by the biorepository director who takes responsibility for the protocol, this would be compliant with the CAP BAP requirements.

Becca Battisfore:

This has been really informative, so I want to thank you Dr. Leelatian for joining the podcast to talk about brain bank biorepositories. I want to thank you all for listening to this podcast. We'll have a link to the CAP'S Biorepository Accreditation Program along with this episode. For more information about the CAP visit CAP.org.

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