Routine formaldehyde fixation irreversibly reduces immunoreactivity of Bcl-2 in the nuclear compartment of breast cancer cells, but not in the cytoplasm.

Bcl-2 and Bax belong to a family of proteins involved in apoptosis regulation and are believed to reside in the cellular cytoplasm. The authors recently reported interphase nuclear localization of both proteins after immunofluorescence staining of formaldehyde- and methanol-fixed human and rodent cell monolayers. In addition, the authors' data confirmed earlier reports on Bcl-2 immunoreactivity of mitotic chromosomes in human cells. In their experience, nuclear or mitotic staining of Bcl-2, in contrast with cytoplasmic Bcl-2 immunoreactivity, is rarely observed in formaldehyde-fixed, paraffin-embedded breast cancer specimens. Therefore, the authors wondered if nuclear and mitotic Bcl-2 immunoreactivity could be irreversibly reduced by certain fixation procedures, including formaldehyde fixation. Here the authors investigated the effects of various routinely used fixation protocols and antigen retrieval techniques on Bcl-2 and Bax immunoreactivity in monolayers of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. Whereas nuclear and mitotic immunoreactivity for Bcl-2 was clearly present after formaldehyde and methanol fixation, it was completely absent in cells fixed in acetone, methanol, or formaldehyde alone. In addition, it was found that in particular nuclear and mitotic Bcl-2, and to a lesser extent cytoplasmic Bcl-2 immunoreactivity, decreased after prolonged formaldehyde fixation, whereas Bax immunoreactivity diminished only slightly. Heat-mediated antigen retrieval after prolonged formaldehyde fixation elevated cytoplasmic, but not nuclear and mitotic, Bcl-2 immunoreactivity.