Detection on liver tissue sections of S-phase markers in synchronized cycling rat hepatocytes by SIMS microscopy

The aim of this study was to localise two ionic S-phase markers in tissue sections using SIMS microscopy: aluminium as a potential endogenous marker and bromine as an exogenous marker after in vivo injection of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU). This study was performed in an experimental model of hyperplastic proliferation after partial hepatectomy in rat. Aluminium was never detected in nuclei which were positive or negative for tritiated thymidine uptake, as determined by autoradiography in tissue prepared by cryotechniques. In contrast, bromine of BrdU was found in hepatocyte nuclei. However, there was a discrepancy between SIMS bromine images and BrdU immunohistochemistry detection which appears more sensitive. This is probably due to problems of stereology intrinsic to the correlation method which requires serial sections for this multi-instrumental approach.