Abstract
ABSTRACTHematoxylin and eosin (H&E) has been traditionally used to highlight the morphology of elastic arteries. An alternative staining procedure, lead hematoxylin-tartrazine yellow (LHTY), will be compared with H&E to evaluate its depiction of various layers in rat aortic wall. Sliced aortic rings, from 1-year-old male Sprague–Dawley rats that had undergone balloon angioplasty, were harvested at 1 day, 7 days, and 14 days after this procedure. Stained sections of specimen rings were evaluated to determine the effects on cellular components and extracellular matrix of various sublayers in the three aortic tunics. In contrast to H&E, the LHTY staining was found to clearly differentiate sublayers of the tunica intima from the tunica media. In addition, the elastic lamellar bands in the tunica media were especially demarcated to provide greater visibility for obtaining measurable indices (such as thickness). Moreover, LHTY-stained rings clearly depicted connective tissue elements within the intervening sublayers of tunica media. The contrast provided by two dyes of LHTY enhanced the appearance of the myofibrillar texture of interlamellar zones and thickness of bands. On the other hand, the nuclei of the smooth muscle cells were somewhat more discernable using H&E staining.
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