Silver stains distinguish tau-positive structures in corticobasal degeneration/progressive supranuclear palsy and in Alzheimer's disease--comparison between Gallyas and Campbell-Switzer methods.
Possible differences in silver-staining profiles and their relation to tau-like immunoreactivity were investigated on cortical sections from corticobasal degeneration (CBD), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), Down's syndrome (DS) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Pairs of mirror sections were double-fluorolabeled with an anti-PHF tau (AT8) antibody and thiazin red (TR), a fluorochrome that labels fibrillary structures such as neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). Subsequently, one of the pair was stained with Gallyas method (GAL), and the other with Campbell-Switzer method (CS). Identification of the same structure on the corresponding microscopic fields enabled a comparison of four different profiles of each structure: AT8 immunoreactivity, and affinity to TR, GAL and CS. NFTs of DS/AD, containing three- and four-repeat tau, were positive for TR, GAL and CS. AT8-immunoreactive structures of CBD/PSP, containing mainly four-repeat tau, were positive for GAL, but negative for CS and TR. This discrepancy is explainable if the argyrophilia with GAL is related to deposits containing four-repeat tau, while that with CS is linked to those containing three-repeat tau. The lack of CS labeling may also be related to poor TR staining, possibly representing scarcity of fibrillary structure in CBD/PSP. The absence of CS staining is characteristic of tau-positive structures of CBD/PSP, which is readily distinguishable from NFTs of DS/AD, hence is of potential pathological and diagnostic relevance.
Uchihara
Toshiki
T
Department of Neuropathology, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Neuroscience, 2-6 Musashi-dai, Fuchu, 183-8526, Tokyo, Japan. uchihara@tmin.ac.jp
Shibuya
Katsuhiko
K
Nakamura
Ayako
A
Yagishita
Saburo
S
D000368:Aged; D001480:Basal Ganglia Diseases / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000145:classification / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D016874:Neurofibrillary Tangles / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D009930:Organic Chemicals; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D016622:Silver Staining / Q000379:methods*; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D009930:Organic Chemicals; D016875:tau Proteins; C419142:thiazin red