Comparison of protein A-gold and ferritin immunoelectron microscopy of Semliki Forest virus in mouse brain using a rapid processing technique.

Processing tissue for transmission electron microscopy by standard laboratory methods can take two to three days. This makes the development of new techniques time consuming and generally restricts the use of the electron microscope in routine diagnostic work. The possibility of viewing tissue with the electron microscope five hours after sampling using rapid processing techniques is presented. The morphology of the tissue appears undamaged with cell and organelle ultrastructures being readily recognized, as is the presence of virus and its replicating stages. When combined with immunoelectron microscopy a rapid labeling protocol is possible. We have used the technique to develop protein A-gold (6 and 16 nm particles) and ferritin immunoelectron microscopic techniques to demonstrate viral antigens in brain cell cultures and brain tissue from mice infected with Semliki Forest virus.