Histochemistry of sulfhydryls in acute myocardial infarction

To study the changes in sulfhydryl and disulfide distribution in myocardial infarction we applied the fluorescent sulfhydryl reagent, monobromobimane to sections of myocardium from patients dying of infarction of 24 h to 7 days duration. Staining for both sulfhydryls and for disulfide after reduction of slides blocked with N-Ethyl maleimide showed that sulfhydryls were decreased in the infarcted areas. Disulfides were increased in the periphery of infarction but cells undergoing cytolysis showed loss of disulfide staining as well as sulfhydryl staining. The causes and implication of these changes are discussed.