Immunoglobulin and complement demonstration in kidney following transport medium preservation

Transport media have been widely utilized for the preservation of immunoglobulins and complement in skin biopsies submitted for direct immunofluorescence. Critical studies have been performed to evaluate the quality of immunoreactivity maintained following such handling of skin specimens. We assessed the degree of immunoreactant preservation in kidney specimens derived from 2 murine models of renal disease, namely the NZW/BiNJ and the C57BLKsJ-db/db strains. There was excellent preservation of glomerular immunoglobulin and complement through 48 h of transport medium holding time, with especially good maintenance of granular staining patterns. While fresh-frozen tissue is preferable for direct immunofluorescence study of renal disease, acceptable preservation of immunoreactants may be maintained for a moderate period of time by transport medium utilization.