Immunohistochemical characterization of amyloid fibril precursors in renal tissue

Amyloidosis is a heterogeneous group of disorders characterised by extracellular deposition of abnormal protein fibrils which are derived from different proteins in different forms of the disease. Almost all patients with amyloidosis have renal disorders. Distinguishing type of amyloidosis is important for therapeutic and investigative purposes. The different types of amyloid fibril proteins can be evaluated by immunohistochemistry, but not by routine histochemical techniques. On the basis of immunohistochemical studies two groups of amyloidosis were distinguished. In all cases, whatever the type, P component was detected, while none of the biopsies revealed transthyretin. The immunoperoxidase technique has the advantage of being able to detect amyloid in formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tissues and remains the simplest and very specific method for identifying amyloid fibril proteins.