Cytochemical evaluation of the Guard procedure a regressive staining method for demonstrating chromosomal basic proteins. I. Effects of fixation, blocking reactions, selective extractions, and polyacid "differentiation".

Appropriately fixed preparations stained by a modification of the Guard (1959) reaction for "sex chromatin" display selective staining of interphase chromatin and mitotic or meiotic chromosomes. This is a regressive staining method which seems to depend on the selective displacement of an acidic dye from less basic structures, and retention of the dye at more basic sites. The results obtained with the reaction can be controlled by the length of time that the preparations are "differentiated" in solutions containing phosphomolybdic and phosphotungstic acids (polyacids). After three- or four-hour exposures to polyacid solutions, all chromatin is stained. However, with longer differentiation, "condensed" chromatin can be stained preferentially. Of a number of fixatives investigated, only 10% formalin, ethanol-acetic acid (3:1), and Bouin's solution proved useful. Others resulted in diminished specificity or a total loss of selectivity. The most intense staining was obtained after formalin fixation. Less intense dyebinding was observed after fixation in 3:1 - probably due to extraction of some histone fractions-and the least amount of dye was bound in Bouin's-fixed chromatin - probably due to blockage of arginine residues by picric acid. The reaction was not affected by enzymatic removal of nucleic acids or the extraction of lipids. It was diminished by treatment with trypsin or weak acetylation, and it was completely prevented by strong acetylation, deamination, or extraction of basic proteins with HCl. The results presented suggest that the modified Guard (1959) procedure selectively demonstrates basic nucleoproteins. Further, by the use of regressive differentiation in polyacid solutions, the retention of dye in more condensed chromatin can be favored.