Related Experiment Videos
Detection of myocardial infarction by immunohistological staining for C9 on formalin fixed, paraffin wax embedded
J P Doran1, A J Howie, J N Townend
1Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Birmingham.
Insights
An immunohistological stain for complement component C9 effectively detects early myocardial necrosis. This method is superior to histochemical and conventional staining for identifying myocardial infarction.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Pathology
- Immunohistochemistry
- Diagnostic Pathology
Background:
- Early detection of myocardial infarction is crucial for timely intervention.
- Conventional histological methods may not reliably identify early-stage myocardial necrosis.
- Complement component C9 deposition is a potential marker for acute myocardial injury.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the utility of an immunohistological stain for complement component C9 in detecting early myocardial infarction.
- To compare the C9 stain's efficacy against enzyme histochemical and conventional histological staining methods.
Main Methods:
- Hearts were stained using an immunohistological C9 stain, nitroblue tetrazolium/phenazine methosulphate (enzyme histochemistry), and haematoxylin and eosin (conventional histology).
- Studies included necropsy hearts and hearts from cases with and without confirmed myocardial infarction.
Main Results:
- The C9 stain identified myocardial necrosis in 7 out of 8 hearts where the histochemical method indicated necrosis in 5.
- In suspected infarction cases, C9 staining detected 24 out of 25, while haematoxylin and eosin identified 16 (infarcts >24 hours old).
- Three control hearts showed C9 staining, correlating with conditions like septicaemia causing myocardial damage.
Conclusions:
- Immunohistological staining for C9 is a simple, reliable, and sensitive technique for detecting early myocardial necrosis.
- This method is effective on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded necropsy tissue.
- The C9 immunohistological stain offers advantages over histochemical and conventional haematoxylin and eosin staining for diagnosing myocardial infarction.
Aims:
To evaluate an immunohistological stain for complement component C9 as a method of detecting early myocardial infarction and to compare this with (1) an enzyme histochemical method and (2) conventional histological staining.
Methods:
(1) Eight hearts taken at necropsy were stained using the nitroblue tetrazolium/phenazine methosulphate method and an immunohistological stain for C9. (2) Twenty five hearts from cases of suspected or confirmed myocardial infarction and 25 from cases without conventional evidence of infarction were stained for C9 and by haematoxylin and eosin.
Results:
(1) The histochemical method indicated myocardial necrosis in five hearts and the C9 method in seven, all of which had clinical evidence of myocardial damage or a reason for it. The histochemical method required fresh myocardium, was difficult to use and was difficult to interpret. (2) Of 25 hearts with suspected or confirmed infarction, 24 were stained by the C9 method. Staining with haematoxylin and eosin showed infarction in 16 of these, all with infarcts at least 24 hours old; the other eight had clinical evidence of infarction less than 24 hours old. The heart not stained by C9 was from a patient who, on review, had no evidence of infarction. Of the 25 control hearts, none had infarction on staining with haematoxylin and eosin, but three were stained by the C9 method. These three were from patients with septicaemia or another reason for myocardial damage.
Conclusions:
The immunohistological method for C9 is a simple, reliable and sensitive method for the detection of early myocardial necrosis that could be used on formalin fixed, paraffin wax embedded necropsy material. This had advantages over a histochemical method and conventional staining with haematoxylin and eosin.