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Published on: March 1, 2018
An improved histochemical technique for differentiating adrenaline- and noradrenaline-containing cells
R Ortíz-Butron1, M J Piñón-López, L Juárez-Santiago
1Departamento de Fisiología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológícas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México, D.F.
Background:
Sevki's histochemical technique allows specific staining of catecholamine-containing cells, yet discrimination between adrenaline-(ADR-) cells and noradrenaline-(NOR-) cells is unreliable, being based on hue differences.
Methods:
In this work, histochemical differentiation of ADR- and NOR-cells in rat adrenal medulla was carried out by introducing two modifications to Sevki's technique: 1) employment of aged Giemsa solution, and 2) addition of an alkaline differentiating step.
Results:
With these changes, ADR-cells stained brown, whereas NOR-cells were deep-green, resulting in a clear-cut differentiation.
Conclusions:
The modified technique permits to differentiate ADR- from NOR-cells in the adrenal medulla using only a bright field microscope without any sophisticated equipment. The present procedure is inexpensive and easy to carry out.
