Comparison of verdeluz orange G and modified Gallego stains

Tumors of the oral cavity include combinations of hard and soft tissues that may be difficult to identify using routine hematoxylin and eosin (H & E) staining. Although combination stains can demonstrate hard and soft tissues, trichrome stains, such as VanGieson and Masson, cannot differentiate dental hard tissues, such as dentin, cementum and osteoid. Modified Gallegos (MGS) and verdeluz orange G-acid fuchsin (VOF) stains can differentiate components of teeth. We used 10 tissue sections of decalcified bone and 10 pathologic tissue sections that contained different calcified tissues including peripheral ossifying fibroma, odontoma, central ossifying fibroma and cemento-ossifying fibroma. Sections were stained with H & E, VOF or MGS. H and E stained both hard tissues pink. VOF stained bone purple-red, cementum red and collagen blue. MGS stained bone green-blue, cementum red and collagen blue. VOF staining intensity and differentiation was better than MGS staining. VOF staining demonstrated hard tissue components distinctly and exhibited good contrast with the surrounding connective tissue. VOF also is a simple, single step, rapid staining procedure.     

The Biology of the Prothoracicotropic Hormone Peptidergic Neurons in an Insect

SYNOPSIS. The prothoracicotropic hormone and the cerebral peptidergicneurons that produce it have traditionally been thought to havethe singular function of acting as a primary effector of insectpostembryonic development. Recent investigations of this neuroendocrineaxis in the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta, are leading toa new view that these peptidergic neurons and their peptidephenotypes may be multifunctional. They may act in differentways depending upon the animal's developmental stage and siteof phenotype release. The possibility for this functional diversityof the prothoracicotropic hormone is possibly even greater dueto multiple neuronal sites of peptide expression within thecentral nervous system. Similarly, the L-NSC III may have morefunctions due to the expression of multiple peptide phenotypes.The data, thus far, have not enabled us to identify additionalphysiological roles for the peptide, but they have providedinsight into the experimental approaches that might be effectivein resolving these functions.