Do's and don'ts in the preparation of muscle cryosections for histological analysis

Histological evaluation of muscle biopsies has served as an indispensable tool in the understanding of the development and progression of pathology of neuromuscular disorders. However, in order to do so, proper care needs to be taken when excising and preserving tissues to achieve optimal staining. One method of tissue preservation involves fixing tissues in formaldehyde and then embedding them with paraffin wax. This method preserves morphology well and allows for long-term storage at RT but is cumbersome and requires handling of toxic chemicals. Further, formaldehyde fixation results in antigen cross-linking, which necessitates antigen retrieval protocols for effective immunostaining. On the contrary, frozen sectioning does not require fixation and thus retains biological antigen conformation. This method also provides a distinct advantage in quick turn around time, making it especially useful in situations needing quick histological evaluation like intraoperative surgical biopsies. Here we describe the most effective method of preparing muscle biopsies for visualization with different histological and immunological stains.