Norbert Zimmermann

The cerium perhydroxide-diaminobenzidine (Ce-H2O2-DAB) procedure

SummaryNew light microscopic visualization methods were developed for the histochemical detection of non-specific alkaline and acid phosphatase, Mg-, Ca-and Na, K-dependent adenosine triphosphatase, myosin adenosine triphosphatase, glucose-6-phosphatase, 5′-nucleotidase and thiamine pyrophosphatase with cerium ions as trapping agents in cryostat and plastic sections. The techniques are based on the conversion of cerium phosphate into cerium perhydroxide by H2O2 which decomposes at 55°–60° C into cerium hydroxide and oxygen radicals. These radicals are able to oxidize diaminobenzidine (DAB) to DAB brown. Addition of nickel ions to the DAB-H2O2 mixture generates bluish-black stained nickel-DAB complexes. Compared with the classical metal precipitation, azo, azoindoxyl and tetrazolium procedures the H2O2-DAB and especially the H2O2-DAB-nickel methods provided identical or superior results in catalytic phosphatase histochemistry and immunohistochemistry when using non-specific alkaline phosphatase as the enzyme label.

Light microscopical localization of enzymes by means of cerium-based methods. II. A new cerium-lead-technique for alkaline phosphatase.

The use of cerium ions as a primary capture reagent in phosphatase histochemistry on the light and the electron microscopic level is a progress in the field of enzyme localization. Many influences of other captures (as of lead ions), e.g. enzyme inhibition, diffusion and other artefacts, are restricted when cerium-based methods are used. But the broader use of cerium is difficult, because cerium ions are at alkaline pH converted to the insoluble cerium hydroxide, which intensively precipitates in the incubation medium. This is an important disadvantage for a successful histochemical detection of alkaline phosphatase. The aim of this paper is to describe a new cerium-based method for the light microscopical detection of alkaline phosphatase, which is free from all these above mentioned problems. It is proposed a collidine buffer-sucrose containing medium, which holds cerium ions at pH = 9.0 in solution. The histochemical results of this method are excellent. The method is compared with a strontium based technique, the coupling azo dye technique for alkaline phosphatase as well as with in vitro and histochemical experiments with several chelator agents. The cerium-based collidine-sucrose technique is superior to all other procedures tested here and is recommended for a broader use.

Light microscopical localization of enzymes by means of cerium-based methods: I. Detection of acid phosphatase by a new cerium-lead-technique (Ce-Pb-method)

Cerium-III-ions are more and more used as capturing reagent and opaque marker for the electron microscopic localization of a number of H2O2-generating enzymes as well as phosphohydrolases. Contrary to its advantages over common lead methods in the histochemical detection of enzyme activities at the electron microscopic level, cerium-based methods proved to be a failure for light microscopic investigations. Therefore, our cerium-based method for the ultrahistochemical detection of acid phosphatase was developed for further observations at the light microscopic level. The principle of that new Ce-Pb-method is the conversion of light microscopic not visible cerium phosphate into lead phosphate by the secondary capture reagent alkaline lead citrate. Finally, the lead phosphate can be visualized as lead sulfide in the section. The Ce-Pb-method in its finally proposed manner was compared with a common lead method and showed a range of advantages. Because of that fact, the new Ce-Pb-method is recommended for a broader use in histochemistry, e.g. for the light microscopic enzyme investigation parallel to ultrahistochemical preparations.

Light microscopical localization of enzymes by means of cerium-based methods. III. Visualization techniques for cerium phosphate.

Cerium-based methods are more and more used for the electron microscopic localization of phosphohydrolases. By means of the earlier described Ce-Pb-technique, it is possible to localize these enzymes on the light microscopical level. The final product of this reaction is lead sulfide. In addition to this technique, other visualization methods for the light microscopically not visible cerium phosphate are proposed. 3 successful techniques are described in the report: The cerium perhydroxide reaction. By means of H2O2 cerium phosphate is converted into cerium perhydroxide which has an orange-yellowish colour. The manganese dioxide reaction with the conversion of cerium phosphate into cerium oxalate, which is able to reduce permanganate into the hardly soluble brown coloured manganese dioxide. A silver technique (Ce-Pb-AgS-method), which is characterized by the conversion of cerium phosphate into lead phosphate and in a second step to lead sulfide. At the active sites of the lead sulfide, the reduction of silver ions takes place. The reduced silver is converted in a final step into silver sulfide. The enzyme activity is represented by a brown or black coloured staining.

Light microscopical localization of enzymes by means of cerium-based methods. V. Optimization of the cerium-lead (Ce-Pb)-technique for alkaline phosphatase.

A modification of the earlier published cerium-based technique for histochemical detection of alkaline phosphatase activity at light microscopical level (Halbhuber and Zimmermann 1985) is described. The reduction of the s-collidine concentration from 200 mmol to 50 mmol, increase of cerium ion concentration rom 1 mmol to 5 or 10 mmol, and sucrose concentration from 7.5% to 15% at increased from pH = 9.0 to 9.5 less than or equal to 9.9 in the incubation medium led to a high intensification of the histochemical reaction. The brush borders of the rat kidney (especially of the epithelial cells of the primary convoluted tubules) and of the enterocytes demonstrate black-brown tinged and precisely localized final reaction products. Moreover, a simplification of the histochemical procedure by employment of postfixed cryostat sections (small intestine) instead of the time consuming perfusion fixed material (kidney) is presented. Several fixatives were also tested. Nakanes periodate-lysine-paraformaldehyde (PLP) or the periodate-lysine-glutaraldehyde (GLP) fixations are superior to the classical glutaraldehyde/paraformaldehyde double fixation. The proposed optimized cerium-based techniques are recommended for a broad use.

A polyacrylamide gel method for the cytochemical demonstration of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in mouse sperm

Solubility and low activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase let both the aqueous and agarose gel cytochemical incubation techniques fail in mouse sperm. By means of a polyacrylamide gel medium G6PDH was constantly demonstrated in the midpieces of sperm cells prefixed with cold acetone. Although this technique prevented the dislocation of the enzyme, diffusion artifacts due to delayed formation of formazan may occur from sites of high dehydrogenase activity, e.g., epididymal epithelium encountered in sperm smears.

Light microscopical localization of acid and alkaline phosphatase activity by lanthanum-lead-(La-Pb)-methods.

This paper reports on the application of lanthanum cations instead of cerium ions as captures to detect acid and alkaline phosphatase activity in the rat kidney and small intestine. The basis of the proposed histochemical reactions is a three step procedure in analogy to the earlier published cerium-based techniques: the lanthanum phosphate was converted into lead phosphate and finally into the brown coloured lead sulfide [lanthanum-lead-(La-Pb)-reaction]. The results reveal that the La-Pb-reactions are more sensitive in comparison to the Ce-Pb-reactions. Methodological experiments involving lanthanide specific blocking reactions are discussed. Lanthanum cations are recommended as a useful tool in histochemical capture techniques of phosphatases.

Light microscopical localization of enzymes by means of cerium-based methods. IV. Optimization procedures for acid phosphatase

The earlier described cerium based histochemical reaction for acid phosphatase [Ce-Pb-reaction, Zimmermann and Halbhuber (1985)] was optimized. The target tissues (kidney, intestine) were fixed by perfusion with glutaraldehyde in cacodylate or piperazine buffer in anesthetized animals. Postfixation of prefixed sections is not advantageous because of the detectable repressing of the enzyme activity. Moreover, the employment of unfixed cryostat sections, which were postfixed, was always connected with a complete abolition of the acid phosphatase activity. The optimal concentration of the primary capture cerium III chloride in the incubation medium is about 1 mmol. Lower concentrations lead to an incomplete histochemical detection of phosphatase activity in lysosomes. The treatment of cryostat sections of perfusion fixed tissue with borohydride (diminution of aldehyde induced cross links) or with dimethylsulfoxide (extraction of lysosomal materials or the well known vehicle property) brought about an improvement of the penetration capacity for cerium-III-cations into the target structures. After conversion of the cerium phosphate (primary specific reaction product) into cerium perhydroxide, oxalate or fluoride, the Ce-Pb-reaction was negative. Therefore, these blocking reactions represent specific inhibition controls, which indicates the formation and presence of cerium phosphate. On the basis of these reactions it is possible to check the specificity of the histochemical Ce-Pb-reaction for phosphatase activity in sections.

Gadolinium and didymium (praseodymium/neodymium) cations as capture agents in lightmicroscopical histochemistry of acid and alkaline phosphatase.

In previous papers, cerium and lanthanum based methods for light-microscopical detection of acid and alkaline phosphatase activity were proposed. In this paper, the usefulness of other lanthanide cations such as gadolinium and praseodymium/neodymium cations as capture agents in phosphatase histochemistry is tested. It is evident that phosphate ions were sufficiently trapped by these cations. According to the lead and silver multistep procedures earlier described it is possible to visualize alkaline phosphatase activity in the brush borders of the intestine or kidney as well as acid phosphatase activity in the lysosomes. These methods can be recommended.

Ultrahistochemischer Nachweis der Blutgruppensubstanz B menschlicher Erythrocyten mit einem Lectin aus Salmo gairdneriRich.

Summary From the roe of Salmo gairdneri Rich ., a lectin was isolated which agglutinates specifically human erythrocytes of blood group B. For cytochemical labelling of the blood group substance B on the surface of human erythrocytes, an indirect approach was chosen. By means of a polyclonal antibody from the rabbit against the B-specific fish lectin, electronmicroscopic presentation was performed with Protein A gold using a multistep method. For quantification gold labelling was partially followed by a silver technique.