von Wasielewski R, Werner M, Nolte M, Wilkens L, Georgii A
Pathologisches Institut der Medizinischen Hochschule Hannover, Germany.
Histochemistry. 1994 Sep;102(3):165-72. doi: 10.1007/BF00268892.
Formaldehyde fixation of biopsy specimens for routine purposes has often been held responsible for the poor reproducibility of immunohistochemical studies. Recently, antigen retrieval (AGR) using microwave irradiation was described as a potential tool to enhance immunostaining. A comparison of conventional staining and staining after microwave heating was performed for 52 markers, using tissues fixed in formaldehyde for 24 h, 1 to 6 weeks and 3 years respectively, as well as consultant case material. After adequate duration of fixation (24 h), only a few markers (17%) showed better results after AGR, but this percentage was increased to 50% when tissues were fixed for longer periods. Maximal enhancement was obtained in the group of consultant cases (58% of tested markers demonstrated better staining results), in which the period of fixation and tissue processing was unknown. To achieve reliable enhancement with AGR, continuous heating (100 degrees C) should not be shorter than 20 min. In conclusion, AGR may become the most important tool to simplify and equalize immunohistochemical techniques, if critically evaluated.
常规活检标本的甲醛固定常被认为是免疫组织化学研究重复性差的原因。最近，使用微波辐射的抗原修复（AGR）被描述为增强免疫染色的一种潜在工具。使用分别用甲醛固定24小时、1至6周和3年的组织以及会诊病例材料，对52种标志物进行了常规染色与微波加热后染色的比较。在固定足够时间（24小时）后，只有少数标志物（17%）在AGR后显示出更好的结果，但当组织固定更长时间时，这一比例增加到50%。在会诊病例组中获得了最大增强效果（58%的测试标志物显示出更好的染色结果），其中固定和组织处理时间未知。为了通过AGR实现可靠的增强，持续加热（100摄氏度）不应短于20分钟。总之，如果经过严格评估，AGR可能成为简化和统一免疫组织化学技术的最重要工具。
