[Immunohistochemical labeling of inner ear tissues embedded in polyethylene glycol 4000--comparative study with...

An improved method for embedding specimens in polyethylene glycol (PEG) 4000, a water soluble polymer, was used to prepare the vestibular end-organs of the inner ear. Staining of the tissue sections of PEG embedded specimens with antibodies to alpha-tubulin and to calmodulin was compared with staining of tissue sections of Araldite and Unicryl embedded specimens. PEG embedded sections revealed sensitive immunocytochemical labeling with excellent morphological resolution. The problems of embedding and orienting small specimens of the inner ear in PEG are described and the methods used to solve them are described.