DETECTION OF AMYLOID DEPOSITION IN VARIOUS REGIONS OF THE FELINE PANCREAS BY DIFFERENT STAINING TECHNIQUES

Deposition of islet amyloid is a common finding in the pancreas of dia betic cats and it may contribute to the deterioration of glucose toler ance. Three techniques For detecting pancreatic amyloid deposition wer e compared in cats not known to be diabetic. Congo red (CR) staining w as used for histological sections (35 cats) and tissue smear preparati ons (crush and smear [CS] technique 35 cats), and an immunohistochemic al method (18 cats) was used for the detection of amyloid derived from amylin. Six diabetic cats were used as positive controls for the immu nohistochemical method. The amount of pancreatic amyloid demonstrated immunohistochemically was significantly correlated with that shown by CR staining in histological sections but not in CS preparations, which were less satisfactory. However, the amount of amyloid determined imm unohistochemically was slightly but significantly higher than that see n in CR-stained sections. There was no difference in the amount of amy loid between the left limb, middle segment and right limb of the pancr eas. Amylin labelling was seen in about 70 to 80% of islet cells, main ly those located in the islet periphery, and the labelling was most in tense in the cell periphery. (C) 1997 W.B. Saunders Company Limited.