Elastic fibres: histological correlation with orcein and a new monoclonal antibody, HB8

HB8 is a new monoclonal antibody, prepared against human lymphocytes, which has been found to react with elastic fibres, possibly the microfibrillar component. Samples of normal human and animal skin and human skin from various pathological conditions were subjected to immunolabelling with HB8, and alternate sections from each sample were stained by a standard orcein procedure. The individual fibres were clearly marked by the HB8 and this was confirmed by comparison with the standard elastic tissue stain. HB8 provides a new direct, practical and accurate method for the study of elastic tissue.