Journal article
Ferritin immunohistochemistry as a marker for microglia
Acta neuropathologica, Vol.79(2), pp.129-136
1989
DOI: 10.1007/BF00294369
PMID: 2596262
Abstract
An immunohistochemical analysis of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded brain sections was performed with antisera against holoferritin and the light(L)-subunit of ferritin. Sections immunostained using anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), Ricinus communis agglutinin-1 (RCA-1) stain for microglia and iron stain (Berlin blue stain) were compared. The L-subunit of ferritin was purified from normal human spleen according to the modified scrapie-associated fibrils purification, and the anti-serum was raised in a rabbit. Both ferritin antisera positively stained resting and, more markedly, reactive microglia, both of which were also stained with RCA-1 but not with GFAP. Ferritin-positive resting microglia were seen more abundantly in cerebral and cerebellar cortices than in white matter. The advantages of ferritin antisera over RCA-1 are as follows. (1) RCA-1 heavily stains blood vessels, while anti-ferritin does not, hence the microglial cells are more readily visualized with ferritin immunohistochemistry. (2) Reactive microglia and macrophages are more strongly stained with anti-ferritin. (3) The staining intensity of ferritin is independent of the length of tissue fixation in formalin. However, anti-ferritin is inferior to RCA-1 in staining resting microglia with a scanty cytoplasm, especially in the white matter, probably because the former recognizes cytoplasmic components, while the latter recognizes cell membrane. Iron stain only gave a reaction to microglial cells in brains with neurosyphilis and to hemosiderin-laden macrophages. Thus, in addition to RCA-1, ferritin antisera are useful as a microglia marker in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Ferritin immunohistochemistry as a marker for microglia
- Creators
- Y KANEKO - Kyushu univ., fac. medicine, dep. neuropathology, Fukuoka 812, JapanT KITAMOTO - Kyushu univ., fac. medicine, dep. neuropathology, Fukuoka 812, JapanJ TATEISHI - Kyushu univ., fac. medicine, dep. neuropathology, Fukuoka 812, JapanK YAMAGUCHI - Kyushu univ., fac. medicine, dep. neuropathology, Fukuoka 812, Japan
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Acta neuropathologica, Vol.79(2), pp.129-136
- Publisher
- Springer; Berlin
- DOI
- 10.1007/BF00294369
- PMID
- 2596262
- ISSN
- 0001-6322
- eISSN
- 1432-0533
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 1989
- Academic Unit
- Iowa Neuroscience Institute; Anesthesia; Neuroscience and Pharmacology
- Record Identifier
- 9984071708802771
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