Degeneration of Pick bodies visualized by methenamine-silver staining and immunohistochemistry.
The degeneration process of Pick's bodies (PB) was investigated using methenamine-silver (MS) staining and immunohistochemistry. Methenamine-silver staining sensitively detected extracellular PB as well as intracellular PB in the granular cell layer of the dentate gyrus. Extracellular PB appeared as granular masses with ill-defined boundaries in the neuropil. For MS electron microscopy, the extracellular PB were composed of randomly oriented fibrillary components measuring 9-12 nm in diameter with astroglial processes and degenerated organelles. Tau immunoreactivity of extracellular PB was reduced or abolished. These findings indicate that MS staining is a convenient method for detecting extracellular PB. In addition, it was shown that microglial involvement was associated with PB-bearing neurons at the late stage of the degeneration process and that extracellular PB remained in the neuropil with astroglial reaction.
Odawara
Toshinari
T
Department of Psychiatry, Yokohama City University School of Medicine, Yokohama, Japan. odaw1913@med.yokohama-cu.ac.jp
Iseki
Eizo
E
Furukawa
Yoshiko
Y
Suzuki
Kyoko
K
Hino
Hiroaki
H
Kosaka
Kenji
K
D000368:Aged; D018891:Dentate Gyrus / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005260:Female; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D002479:Inclusion Bodies / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008297:Male; D008709:Methenamine; D016253:Microscopy, Immunoelectron; D019581:Neuropil / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D020774:Pick Disease of the Brain / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; D016875:tau Proteins; D008709:Methenamine