title: Immunohistochemical localization and quantification of desmoplakins I & II and keratins 1 and 19 in plastic-embedded sections of human gingiva.
abstract: We developed immunohistochemical and image analytical techniques to localize and quantify keratins and desmoplakins in sections of plastic-embedded human gingiva. Acetone fixation followed by plastic embedding of gingiva provided excellent morphology and permitted immunohistochemical detection of keratins 1 and 19 and desmoplakins I & II after 2.5-min trypsin digestion. Quantitative image analysis demonstrated that different volume densities of staining of each marker were associated with specific epithelial strata. Keratin 1 stained most heavily in granular strata, followed by corneal and spinous strata; keratin 19 stained most strongly in the basal layer; desmoplakins I & II stained most strongly in the granular and corneal strata. These findings confirm that variations of keratin and desmoplakin expression in these epithelial are associated with regional patterns of epithelial differentiation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Carmichael
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: McCulloch
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Zarb
mesh_terms: D002454:Cell Differentiation; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D051180:Desmoplakins; D004847:Epithelial Cells; D004848:Epithelium / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005881:Gingiva / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D007633:Keratins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008854:Microscopy, Electron
chemical_list: D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; C495294:DSP protein, human; D051180:Desmoplakins; D007633:Keratins