Two-dimensional cryostat section electrophoresis: a novel method and its application to the diseased synovial membrane.

A two-dimensional electrophoresis technique for analysing sections of human tissue is described. Cryostat sections, 10 microns thick, are placed on an isoelectric focusing gel and then transferred to an SDS gel in the second dimension. The protein pattern is visualized by silver staining and is thought to represent soluble proteins. The silver-stained proteins were found to be both reproducible and, to the extent tested, organ-specific. This method was used to analyse 43 synovial membranes from patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis or degenerative joint diseases. The analysis did not reveal any specific protein pattern for rheumatoid arthritis. The protein spot number was not related to the cause of arthritis. However, the total protein spot number was related to the histomorphological synovitis type, with those exhibiting either an exudative or proliferative synovitis pattern possessing significantly higher protein spot numbers than those specimens exhibiting a sero-fibrous or lympho-plasmacytic pattern of synovitis.