Expression of keratin 18 in the periderm cells of the lingual epithelium of fetal rats: visualization by fluorescence immunohistochemistry and differential interference contrast microscopy.

We examined the expression of keratin 18 (K18), by immunofluorescence staining, while monitoring morphological changes in the periderm on the lingual epithelium of rats by laser-scanning microscopy of epoxy resin-embedded, semi-ultrathin sections. We also examined differential interference contrast (DIC) images of the same sections to define the histology and morphology of the cells. It is difficult to visualize histological details of the fetal lingual epithelium of the rat on semi-ultrathin sections by light microscopy after immunohistochemical staining, because the histological structures in such sections cannot be distinguished by standard counterstaining. To solve this problem and to visualize keratin 18 (K18), we used a combination of immunofluorescence staining of semi-ultrathin sections and corresponding differential contrast (DIC) images, obtained by laser-scanning microscopy.