The effects of various fixatives on subsequent lectin binding to tissue sections

Summary The effects of ten fixation protocols on the subsequent binding of eight lectins to various mouse tissue sites have been systematically evaluated. The fixatives used were neutral and buffered formalin—saline, Bouin's fluid, 95% ethanol, Carnoy's fluid, calcium acetate—paraformaldehyde, and mercuric chloride both before and after removal of mercury pigment. These were compared with frozen sections of unfixed tissue and frozen sections post fixed in paraformaldehyde. Lectins used were PNA, DBA, SBA, BPA, UEA 1, GS I, GS II and MPA. Ethanol was found to be the superior fixative, closely followed by mercuric chloride. Paraformaldehyde was a poor fixative of both paraffin and frozen sections. It is recommended that, where a choice is possible, the fixation protocol appropriate to the particular lectin and tissue binding site is selected. Within certain limitations, formalin—saline proved an adequate fixative for the study of routine paraffin-processed tissue sections.     

Microwave-assisted staining procedures in routine histopathology

Summary The use and practicability of microwave-assisted staining procedures in routine histopathology over more than three years has been evaluated. A domestic microwave oven was used to speed up the following staining procedures: Haematoxylin-Eosin (for frozen sections), Romanowsky-Giemsa, Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS), Ziehl-Neelson, Papanicolaou, Feulgen and Grocott — stain on buffered formalin fixed sections or cytologic smears. These staining procedures can be made highly reproducible providing; (1) Staining vessels are placed in the same position inside the oven; (2) Accurate timing in seconds is observed. Microwave-assisted staining procedures are equal to or even superior to those of the standard methods. Staining times can be reduced to 2%–10% of the conventional staining procedures. The basic staining protocols are presented.     

Simultaneous immunohistochemical demonstration of antigen expression and 5-bromodeoxyuridine incorporation in plastic embedded sections

Summary In this study a double immunohistochemical staining procedure is described for the simultaneous demonstration of antigen expressing cells and replicating cells in rat thymus. As markers for cell surface antigen expression a monoclonal antibody against Ia-expressing cells (His 19) and a monoclonal antibody against cells of the monocyte-macrophage lineage (ED2) were used. Replicating cells were demonstrated by the incorporation of 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdUrd). Tissue pieces were fixed in a periodate-lysine-paraformaldehyde fixative and embedded in glycol methacrylate. To demonstrate Ia-expressing cells or ED2-positive macrophages in plastic embedded sections a digestion with trypsin is necessary. The staining procedure was applied sequentially and was performed with a peroxidase and an alkaline phosphatase labeled reagent yielding respectively a brown and a blue reaction product. Results with this staining procedure on plastic embedded sections of rat thymus, an organ with a high DNA synthesizing capacity, showed incorporation of BrdUrd predominantly in the cortex. ED2-positive macrophages were only found in the cortex. The la-positive epithelial reticular cells demonstrated extremely well their stellate form.     

Simultaneous immunohistochemical demonstration of antigen expression and 5-bromodeoxyuridine incorporation in plastic embedded sections

In this study a double immunohistochemical staining procedure is described for the simultaneous demonstration of antigen expressing cells and replicating cells in rat thymus. As markers for cell surface antigen expression a monoclonal antibody against Ia-expressing cells (His 19) and a monoclonal antibody against cells of the monocyte-macrophage lineage (ED2) were used. Replicating cells were demonstrated by the incorporation of 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdUrd). Tissue pieces were fixed in a periodate-lysine-paraformaldehyde fixative and embedded in glycol methacrylate. To demonstrate Ia-expressing cells or ED2-positive macrophages in plastic embedded sections a digestion with trypsin is necessary. The staining procedure was applied sequentially and was performed with a peroxidase and an alkaline phosphatase labeled reagent yielding respectively a brown and a blue reaction product. Results with this staining procedure on plastic embedded sections of rat thymus, an organ with a high DNA synthesizing capacity, showed incorporation of BrdUrd predominantly in the cortex. ED2-positive macrophages were only found in the cortex. The Ia-positive epithelial reticular cells demonstrated extremely well their stellate form.     

Calcium-induced modification of protein conformation demonstrated by immunohistochemistry: What is the signal?

A recent study by Morgan et al. on the mechanism of the heating antigen retrieval (AR) has raised an interesting issue concerning calcium-induced modification of protein conformation demonstrated by immunohistochemistry (IHC). The current study is based on calcium-induced modification of thrombospondin (TSP) and Ki-67, as demonstrated by IHC using seven monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to TSP and an MAb MIB1. Experiments were carried out on frozen tissue sections of bladder carcinoma and lymph node. Frozen sections were incubated with solutions of 50 mM CaCl2 and/or 10 mM EDTA at 4C overnight before formalin or acetone fixation for TSP and Ki-67, respectively. Sections were then fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin or acetone before immunostaining. Seven MAbs to TSP, named Ab1 to 7 representing clone numbers of A4.1, D4.6, C6.7, A6.1, B5.2, A2.5, and HB8432, respectively, and MIB1 were utilized as primary antibodies. ABC was used as the detection system and AEC as the chromogen for immunohistochemical staining. An extracellular immunostaining pattern represented a positive result for TSP, and nuclear staining for MIB1. Frozen sections preincubated in 50 mM CaCl2 overnight at 4C showed significant loss of staining and/or altered staining pattern for six of the seven antibodies to TSP and MIB1 compared to positive controls not exposed to CaCl2. Lack of immunostaining of TSP and MIB1 attributable to exposure to CaCl2 could be partially recovered by incubating the frozen sections in EDTA. Calcium-induced modification of protein structure was demonstrated more than 10 years ago on the basis of immunochemical techniques. In this study, similar calcium-induced modification of protein was detectable by IHC in frozen tissue sections, suggesting that calcium-induced modification of protein structure may occur independently of fixation-induced modification. The fact that calcium binding may affect IHC staining is not surprising in view of the fact that antibody/antigen interactions are protein structure-dependent. However, in this experiment the change occurred before and independent of formalin fixation and does not necessarily imply a role for calcium in AR. There may be a valuable role for the use of chemical modification in visualization of protein structure changes in tissue sections by IHC. (J Histochem Cytochem 47:463-469, 1999)     

The effects of different fixatives for immunofluorescent and immunoperoxidase localization of Factor VIII-related antigen in canine carotid artery and vascular prostheses

Summary The evaluation of vascular grafts seeded with autologous endothelial cells requires a reliable method of endothelial cell identification. Previous attempts to identify positively tissue Factor VIII-related antigen, found in relatively large amounts in vascular endothelial cells, proved to be inconsistent when immunoperoxidase and immunofluorescent staining techniques were tried. Because the Factor VIII antigen is very labile, this study was performed to determine an optimal fixation technique for demonstrating this antigen in frozen sections of endothelial tissue. Unfixed, acetone-fixed, and formalin-fixed sections of canine carotid artery as well as vascular grafts fixed in 1-ethyl-3-(3-diaminopropyl)-carbodiimide were examined by an indirect immunofluorescence technique. Also, the immunoperoxidase method of Factor VIII identification was applied to unfixed, acetone-fixed, and carbodiimide-fixed endothelial cell seeded vascular grafts. Acetone was the preferred fixative, resulting in excellent antigen preservation with minimal background staining. The immunoperoxidase technique of Factor VIII-related antigen identification was found to be the method of choice because of its sensitivity.     

Some monoclonal anti-human lymphocyte and class II MHC antigen antibodies do not stain snap frozen Macaca fascicularis lymphocytes or tissue sections.

Experiments were designed to stain snap frozen and fixed Macaca fascicularis peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) preparations and colon sections assuming that monoclonal mouse anti-human lymphocyte and class II major histocompatibility complex antigen antibodies would cross-react with the monkey counterparts to the human antigens. Most of the monoclonals used in this study did not stain the monkey frozen and fixed tissues in immunoenzymatic protocols despite adequate staining of control human tissues. The fact that snap frozen Macaca fascicularis PBMCs and tissue sections were not always stained is of practical importance for experimental design in Macaca fascicularis using anti-human reagents.     

Combined histochemical and biochemical investigation to the reliability of the demonstration of arylsulphatase activity in cryostat sections

Summary The reliability of the enzyme histochemical technique, for the demonstration of arylsulphatase activity, using 6-bromo-2-naphthylsulphate as a substrate, is biochemically tested by using partly purified lysosome and microsome preparations from fresh human placenta tissue. Microsomes from frozen placenta with an arylsulphatase deficiency and lysosomes from rat liver, are also investigated. For the biochemical test methods, 6-bromo-2-naphthylsulphate and p-nitrocatecholsulphate are used as substrates. Under similar reaction conditions, varying the pH of the incubation medium and adding inhibitors or activators, the histochemical and biochemical reactions are compared. The results of this study whow that the enzyme histochemical technique — except for some limitations — is suitable for the demonstration of microsomal arylsulphatase in cryostat sections.     

Enzyme histochemistry of rat mast cell tryptase

Fixation and staining conditions for rat mast cell tryptase and its histochemical distribution in different rat tissues were investigated. Prostate, skin, lung, gut, stomach and salivary glands were fixed in either aldehyde or Carnoy fixatives and then frozen or embedded in paraffin wax. Preservation of tryptase enzymic activity against peptide substrates required aldehyde fixation and frozen sectioning. Of the peptide substrates examined, z-Ala-Ala-Lys-4-methoxy-2-naphthylamide and z-Gly-Pro-Arg-4-methoxy-2-naphthylamide proved the most effective for the demonstration of tryptase. Double staining by enzyme cytochemistry followed by immunological detection of tryptase showed that, in all tryptase-containing mast cells, the enzyme is at least in part active. Conventional dye-binding histochemistry was used to confirm the identity of mast cells. Aldehyde-fixed mucosal mast cells required a much shorter staining time with Toluidine Blue if tissue sections were washed directly in t-butyl alcohol. Double staining by enzyme cytochemistry and dye binding showed that tryptase is absent from mucosal and subepidermal mast cells, which are also smaller in size and appear to contain fewer granules than connective tissue mast cells. This study demonstrates that rat mast cell tryptase, unlike tryptases in other species, is a soluble enzyme. It is stored in an active form and is absent from some mast cell subpopulations in mucosa, skin and lung. © 1998 Chapman & Hall     

Application of heat-induced antigen retrieval to aldehyde-fixed fresh frozen sections.

We applied the heat-induced antigen retrieval (HIAR) to aldehyde-fixed fresh frozen sections based on a new approach (i.e., a rapid and complete immobilization of antigen followed by heating). Frozen sections were fixed with 10% formalin in 0.1 M cacodylate buffer (pH 7.4) containing 25 mM CaCl(2) for 30 min, or with 0.5% glutaraldehyde in 0.1 M phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) for 1 min at room temperature, and then autoclaved in 20 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 9.0) for 10 min at 120 C. Both fixatives yielded good tissue structure after autoclaving. In the sections fixed with formalin containing CaCl(2), 20 of 22 antigens located in the nucleus, cytoplasm, membranes, and extracellular matrix greatly recovered their antigenicity after autoclaving; only two antigens exhibited stronger immunoreaction in acetone-fixed fresh frozen sections than these sections. Heating also retrieved the immunoreactivity of at least 14 antigens in the sections fixed with glutaraldehyde. We used the similar procedures to localize ligand-free estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) and glucocorticoid receptors (GR). Mouse uterine cells exhibited almost the same nuclear ERalpha immunostaining regardless of the hormonal status in glutaraldehyde-fixed fresh frozen sections and unliganded GR was localized mainly in the nucleus of mouse hepatocytes in fresh frozen sections fixed with 20% formalin containing 50 or 75 mM CaCl(2) at 40 C, after autoclaving. These results demonstrate that HIAR is useful for the immunohistochemistry of many antigens in aldehyde-fixed fresh frozen sections.     

Improved avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex (ABC) staining

Summary A considerable intensification of the avidin—biotin—peroxidase complex staining system (ABC) was obtained by sequentially overlaying the sections to be immunostained with an avidin-rich and a biotin-rich complex. Each sequential addition contributed to the deposition of horseradish peroxidase on the immunostained site and allowed the subsequent binding of a complementary complex. With this technique a higher dilution of the antisera could be used and minute amounts of antigen masked by the fixative could be demonstrated on paraffin sections.     

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Immunohistochemical staining for chondroitin sulphate and keratan sulphate. An evaluation of two monoclonal antibodies

Summary Immunohistochemical staining with commercially available antibodies against chondroitin sulphate (clone CS-56) and keratan sulphate (clone 1/20/5-D-4) was compared with two conventional histochemical methods for the demonstration of glycosaminoglycans, namely Alcian Blue with varying pH and critical electrolyte concentrations, and a modified PAS stain. The antibodies were tested on sections from both frozen and fixed, paraffin embedded human material from umbilical cord, skin, and bronchus. The results showed immunostaining to function equally well on frozen and routine sections, and to be superior to Alcian Blue and PAS with regard to morphological detail. Thus, reactivity with anti-chondroitin sulphate was demonstrated in vessel walls, in small nerves, in the basal membrane zone of the skin, in perichondrium, and in and around chondrocytes. Reactivity with anti-keratan sulphate occurred in chondroid matrix and in perichondrial tissue; however, some cells of the bronchial epithelium and mucous glands also exhibited positivity.     

A post-embedding avidin-biotin peroxidase system to demonstrate the light and electron microscopic localization of lectin binding sites in rat kidney tubules

Summary A post-embedding method for the light and electron microscopic demonstration of lectin binding sites in rat kidney tubules is described. The use of biotinylated lectins, followed by treatment with avidin peroxidase and the DAB—H₂O₂ sequence, produced intense staining of acrylic sections at the electron microscope level: brush borders and associated structures, cytoplasmic granules, basal infoldings and basement membrane—plasmalemmal interfaces of proximal tubules bound erythrophytohaemagglutinin, while distal tubules were mainly unstained. At the light microscope level, epoxy resin sections showed a similar staining pattern after etching, as did acrylic resin sections after intensification of the final reaction product. The binding of wheatgerm agglutinin to cytoplasmic granules and brush border structures in the proximal tubules was abolished, at both the light and electron microscope levels, by the competing sugar tri-N—acetylchitotriose. Epoxy resin ultrathin sections required etching before staining was achieved in the electron microscope, and results were far inferior to those obtained with acrylic resin. This method allows rapid and inexpensive screening of large numbers of lectins, if required, at both the light and electron microscope levels, using reagents that are stable for long periods of time.     

Immunohistochemical staining for chondroitin sulphate and keratan sulphate. An evaluation of two monoclonal antibodies

Immunohistochemical staining with commercially available antibodies against chondroitin sulphate (clone CS-56) and keratan sulphate (clone 1/20/5-D-4) was compared with two conventional histochemical methods for the demonstration of glycosaminoglycans, namely Alcian Blue with varying pH and critical electrolyte concentrations, and a modified PAS stain. The antibodies were tested on sections from both frozen and fixed, paraffin embedded human material from umbilical cord, skin, and bronchus. The results showed immunostaining to function equally well on frozen and routine sections, and to be superior to Alcian Blue and PAS with regard to morphological detail. Thus, reactivity with anti-chondroitin sulphate was demonstrated in vessel walls, in small nerves, in the basal membrane zone of the skin, in perichondrium, and in and around chondrocytes. Reactivity with anti-keratan sulphate occurred in chondroid matrix and in perichondrial tissue; however, some cells of the bronchial epithelium and mucous glands also exhibited positivity.     

Masking of antigenic sites of fibronectin by glycosaminoglycans in ethanol-fixed embryonic tissue

Summary We studied the interaction between glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and fibronectin in the basement membrane of the epiblast in the chicken blastoderm using testicular-hyaluronidase digestion of GAGs either on fixed tissue sections or in vivo after microinjection of the enzyme preparation prior to immunostaining for fibronectin. In the choice of fixatives, special attention was paid to their preservation of GAGs. The controls included alcian-blue staining of serial sections to test the efficiency of the digestion, and incubations in the presence of protease inhibitors to abolish contaminating proteolytic activity in the commercial hyaluronidase preparations. The results indicate that fixation in solutions which preserve GAGs, i.e. ethanolic solutions or aqueous solutions containing cetylpyridinium chloride, allows the immunocytochemical demonstration of fibronectin in the basement membrane of the epiblast at the level of the endophyllic crescent, but masks this glycoprotein at the epithelial-mesenchymal interface. As shown by both approaches, this masking of immunoreactivity is reversible. Moreover, the in vivo clearance of GAGs before fixation shows that the masking at the epithelial-mesenchymal interface is not an experimental peculiarity due to the use of a particular technique, but is the consequence of an interaction between GAGs and fibronectin in that particular area of the basement membrane that is used by mesoblast cells as a substrate for migration. The observation that fibronectin may be masked by GAGs in ethanol-fixed tissue — a commonly used fixation method—may require the re-evaluation of some negative results mentioned in the literature.     

Studies in lipid histochemistry

Summary OTAN, controlled chromation—acid haematoxylin and ferric haematoxylin methods were evaluated for their capability of the demonstration of sphingomyelin in tissue sections from which phosphoglycerides were removed by alkaline hydrolysis. The OTAN method is seriously invalidated due to its strong staining of cerebrosides and sulphatides. These sphingolipids are alkali—resistent and are stained together with sphingomyelin after alkaline hydrolysis. Controlled chromation—acid haematoxylin is more suitable. It stains sphingomyelin well and cerebrosides only faintly. This method is not to sensitive, however. The ferric haematoxylin method fulfills all criteria necessary for the demonstration of sphingomyelin and is the method of choice for its demonstration in situ.     

Immunohistochemical procedures for the demonstration of peptide- and tyrosine hydroxylase-containing nerve fibers in cryostat sections of unfixed rapidly frozen tissue stored for long periods of time

Summary Traditional protocols for the immunohistochemical localization of peptides and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in nerve fibers in cryostat sections require the tissue to be thoroughly fixed and rinsed and to be processed for the cryostat sectioning and the immunohistochemical staining more or less directly after freezing. In the present study it was tested whether also unfixed, rapidly frozen tissue, conforming to guinea pig and bovine heart specimens, can be used for the visualization of neuropeptides [neuropeptide Y (NPY) and substance P (S P)] and TH in cryostat sections. The following observations were made: 1) NPY-immunoreactive (IR) and S P-IR nerve fibers could be clearly identified in both fixed and unfixed sections of this type of tissue. 2) TH-IR nerve fibers could be detected in unfixed tissue if the sections were post-fixed with aldehydes by the use of a two-step fixation process related to a sudden change of pH. However, the outlines of the nerve fibers were sometimes diffuse. 3) Storage of unfixed tissue for periods of up to 2.5 yeart at –80° C did not lead to a decrease in immunoreactivity. 4) Somewhat higher concentrations of primary antibodies had to be used for sections of unfixed tissue than for sections of fixed tissue when the FITC method was used. This waste of antibodies was partly overcome by use of the biotin-streptavidin method. The glyoxylic acid induced catecholamine(CA)-fluorescence method for demonstration of sympathetic nerve fibers was also applied and was found to give optimal results after storage of tissue for up to 2.5 years. The study shows that the use of unfixed rapidly frozen tissue represents a fast and realistic method for the demonstration of neuropeptide immunoreactivity, that it to some extent can be used for the visualization of TH-containing nerve fibers and that it is a suitable method to maintain longterm neuropeptide and TH immunoreactivity as well as long-term CA-fluorescence reaction.     

Effects of primary antiserum dilution on staining of "antigenrich" tissues with the peroxidase antiperoxidase technique.

The effect of primary antiserum dilution on staining results with the peroxidase antiperoxidase method were investigated using frozen sections of perfused rat cerebellum and optic nerve. Results comparable to formalin fixed and paraffin embedded tissue were attainable only when low antiserum concentrations were used. Optimal staining of antigen rich tissue, such as frozen sections, with the peroxidase antiperoxidase method required low antiserum concentrations apparently to minimize the binding of both antigen-binding fragments of the bridging antibody to the tissue bound antiserum. It appears that low antiserum concentration insures that sufficient bridge antibody molecules will be only singly bound and thus free to attach the peroxidase antiperoxidase complex.     

Fixation, processing, and immunochemical reagent effects on preservation of T-lymphocyte surface membrane antigens in paraffin-embedded tissue

Fixatives, fixation additives, paraffin processing reagents, and immunochemical reagents were investigated for effects on preservation of T-lymphocyte surface membrane antigens CD3, CD4, and CD8 in human tonsil. Individual reagent effects were assessed in frozen sections by use of monoclonal antibodies and this information was used to optimize T-cell immunostaining in paraffin sections. Harmful factors were fixation delay, fixation at acid pH, fixation and processing at temperatures above 4 degrees C, hot paraffin wax, proteolytic enzymes, methanolic hydrogen peroxide, Triton X-100, and prolonged iodine treatment. Optimal T-cell demonstration in paraffin sections followed tissue fixation in periodate-lysine-paraformaldehyde dichromate at 4 degrees C, pH 7.5; processing through isopropanol, then xylene or chloroform, at 4 degrees C; and embedding in low melting point wax at 45-50 degrees C. Graded antigen stability occurred: CD3 most stable, CD8 least, and CD4 intermediate. CD4 and CD8 antigen preservation in paraffin sections required critical optimal tissue handling. CD3 was more stable and was also demonstrated in tissue fixed in commercial formalin, glutaraldehyde, and Bouin's fluid when fixation and processing conditions were optimized for pH and temperature. Of the fixation additives studied, polyethylene glycol and several potassium and magnesium salts enhanced immunostaining, whereas calcium chloride and lidocaine were deleterious.