Human cadaveric tissue is suitable for histological, immunohistochemical and ultrastructural analysis

Abstract

ObjectiveThis study examined the use of cadaveric material for morphological and pathological studies using histology, immunohistochemistry and TEM.MethodsParaffin‐embedded sections of liver, myocardium, kidney, testis and trachea were prepared from cadavers embalmed using the Dodge arterial injection method. Sections were either stained with H&E or incubated with antibodies against α‐smooth muscle actin (α‐SMA), acetylated α‐tubulin or connexin 43 and detected using either DAB or fluorescence. In addition, some samples were processed for TEM.ResultsAll tissues showed excellent histological morphology comparable to freshly‐fixed tissue; ultrastructural samples yielded moderate resolution. DAB‐positive labelling was observed for α‐SMA and α‐tubulin in all tissues. For immunofluorescence, all tissues were autofluorescent in the yellow‐green spectrum. However, we found that red fluorescent secondary antibodies positively labelled tubulin in tracheal cilia, sperm flagella and kidney primary cilia, as well as connexin 43 in myocardial intercalated disks and α‐SMA in all blood vessels.ConclusionAlthough it is often believed that there is poor microstructural preservation during embalming, we have shown that cadaveric tissues are an excellent source of ethically‐approved human tissue for histological and immunohistochemical studies in biomedical research. Funded by U of Auckland.