Generation of monoclonal antibodies recognizing neuronal elements in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded human tissue

We used formalin-fixed human spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia as immunogens to generate monoclonal antibodies (mAb) which immunohistochemically react with neurons in formalin-fixed human tissue sections. Three of the mAb recognized all neuronal populations studied, including those in spinal cord, dorsal root ganglia, cerebellum, and cerebrum. A fourth mAb recognized neurons within spinal cord, dorsal root ganglia and dentate nucleus of cerebellum but not those in cerebrum or cerebellar hemispheres. This mAb, unlike the other three, did not recognize murine neurons. These data indicate the feasibility of generating mAb suitable for analysis of human pathological material in its most readily available form, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue.