Revisiting fixation and embedding techniques for optimal detection of dendritic cell subsets in tissues

Organ-specific cell types are maintained by tissue homeostasis and may vary in nature and/or frequency in pathological situations. Moreover, within a cell lineage, some sub-populations, defined by combinations of cell-surface markers, may have specific functions. Dendritic cells are the epitome of such a population as they may be subdivided into discrete sub-groups with defined functions in specific compartments of various organs. Technically, to study the distribution of DC sub-populations, it involves performing multiparametric immunofluorescence on well-conserved organ structures. However, immunodetection may be impacted by protein cross-linking and antigenic epitope masking by the use of 10% neutral-buffered formalin. To circumvent this and to preserve a good morphological tissue structure, we evaluated alternative fixatives such as Periodate Lysine Paraformaldehyde or Tris Zinc fixatives in combination with other embedding techniques. The cryosection protocols were adapted for optimal antigen detection but offered a poor morphological preservation. We therefore developed a new methodology based on Tris Zinc fixative, gelatin-sucrose embedding and freezing. Using multiple DC markers, we demonstrate that this treatment is an optimal protocol for cell-surface marker detection on high-quality tissue sections.