Conjugated Avidin Identifies Cutaneous Rodent and Human Mast Cells

Avidin conjugated to the fluorescent dyes rhodamine or fluorescein binds to mast cell granules in rodent and human skin. Sequential staining of tissue mast cells first with conjugated avidin, and then with a metachromatic stain demonstrated that both techniques identify the same mast cell granules....

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of investigative dermatology 1984-09, Vol.83 (3), p.214-218
Main Authors: Bergstresser, Paul R., Tigelaar, Robert E., Tharp, Michael D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Ascites
Avidin - metabolism
Biological and medical sciences
Diverse techniques
Fluorescent Dyes
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Guinea Pigs
Humans
Mast Cells - cytology
Mast Cells - metabolism
Mice
Mice, Inbred BALB C
Molecular and cellular biology
Ovalbumin - analogs & derivatives
Rats
Rats, Inbred Strains
Skin - cytology
Skin - metabolism
Species Specificity
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Avidin conjugated to the fluorescent dyes rhodamine or fluorescein binds to mast cell granules in rodent and human skin. Sequential staining of tissue mast cells first with conjugated avidin, and then with a metachromatic stain demonstrated that both techniques identify the same mast cell granules. Specificity for mast cells was confirmed by the absence of avidin-positive cells in the skin of mast cell-deficient (W/Wv) mice. Binding of conjugated avidin to mast cells was inhibited by pretreating tissue specimens with unconjugated avidin but not by pretreating conjugated avidin with biotin, indicating that avidin does not bind to biotin or a biotin-like molecule. Within murine dermis, unique patterns of mast cell distributions were observed, with a prominent perivascular localization in ear skin, and a complete absence of mast cells underlying the scales in tail skin. In tissue sections of guinea pig skin undergoing basophil hypersensitivity reactions and in murine and human skin specimens infiltrated with eosinophils, conjugated avidin selectively stained only dermal mast cells, demonstrating specificity for mast cells in sites of inflammation. Conjugated avidin also readily stained rat peritoneal mast cells, demonstrating its utility for identifying extracutaneous mast cells. Unlike the metachromatic stains, avidin binding to mast cells in tissues is not limited by methods of fixation or special embedding and cutting procedures. Thus, mast cell identification with conjugated avidin is a reliable, specific, and simple method with important clinical and investigative applications.
ISSN:0022-202X
1523-1747
DOI:10.1111/1523-1747.ep12263584