Simultaneous visualization of myeloperoxidase reactivity and immunogold labeling by backscattered electron imaging...

We describe a method to label circulating human granulocytes with an immunogold marker and then incubate them for demonstration of myeloperoxidase activity. The cells were observed in the backscattered electron imaging (BEI) mode of the scanning electron microscope. This permits simultaneous visualization of cell surface morphology, the immunological surface marker, and the cytochemical reactivity of each individual cell. Enhanced identification of the various cell types and more precise characterization of cell surface features in the different steps of leukocyte differentiation are expected to result from application of this technique.