QUANTITATIVE IMMUNOCHEMISTRY OF ENDOTHELIAL-CELLS IN CUTANEOUS TISSUE

In vivo endothelial cell exploration in human pathology has been limit ed by the lack of a suitable procedure for quantification of endotheli al molecule expression. The objective of the present study was the dev elopment of a precise, simple and rapid image analysis method to quant ify dermis endothelial cells and associated molecules. Cutaneous tissu e sections were labelled by immunoperoxidase procedure using a monoclo nal anti-von Willebrand factor (vWF) antibody, which identifies endoth elial cells. The image analysis programme was tested to quantify final reaction deposit (DAB) with reference to different anti-vWF antibody concentrations. The entire biopsy section was acquired, field by field . Analysis was restricted to three dermis zones geodesically defined f rom epidermis. Optical density and area measurements were performed in whole area and in positive areas. This work demonstrated the feasibil ity of endothelial cell study assisted by image analysis. Surface labe lled by anti-vWF antibody at saturating concentration may be considere d as an endothelial reference surface, and thus may be useful for futu re quantification of other endothelial molecules.