On the mechanism of HBFP stain and an analysis of heterogeneous nuclei in rat hepatocytes.

Haematoxylin-Basic fuchsin-Picric acid (HBFP) technique characterises two varieties of nuclear population in the rat hepatocytes. HBFP technique is capricious and the differentiation step should be controlled stringently; ethanolic picric acid, therefore, is recommended as a differentiation fluid. On the basis of controls treated with (1) ribonuclease (RNase), (2) deoxyribonuclease (DNase), (3) Bouins fluid or (4) protease, this study has determined that DNA-associated protein(s) and some DNA may be responsible for the HBFP produced nuclear fuchsinorrhagia. The heterogeneous nuclei of the rat hepatocytes were statistically analyzed in periportal, centrilobular and intermediate areas. Fuchsinorrhagic nuclei were preponderant in the periportal areas.