Comparison of Histological Techniques to Visualize Iron in Paraffin-embedded Brain Tissue of Patients with Alzheimer's Disease

This article compares three histochemical techniques and ferritin immunohistochemistry to visualize iron in paraffin-embedded human AD brain tissue. The specificity of the histochemical techniques was tested by staining sections after iron extraction. Iron was demonstrated in the white matter, in layers IV/V of the frontal neocortex, in iron containing plaques, and in microglia. In our hands, these structures were best visualized using the Meguro iron stain, a method that has not been described for iron staining in human brain or AD in particular. Ferritin immunohistochemistry stained microglia and iron containing plaques similar to the Meguro method but was less intense in myelin-associated iron. The Meguro method is most suitable for identifying iron-positive structures in paraffin-embedded human AD brain tissue.

Source: Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry - October 25, 2013 Category: Biochemistry Authors: van Duijn, S., Nabuurs, R. J. A., van Duinen, S. G., Natte, R. Tags: Articles Source Type: research