IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL DETECTION OF INTERSTITIAL COLLAGENS IN BONE AND CARTILAGE TISSUE REMNANTS IN AN INFANT PERUVIAN MUMMY

We investigated the immunohistochemical presence of various collagen t ypes in bone and cartilage tissue from an infant Peruvian mummy dating between 500 and 1000 A.D. which had been excavated at the necropolis of Las Trancas in the Nazca region in Peru. Following careful rehydrat ion and decalcification of the tissue, the mummy tissue showed morphol ogically good preservation of the matrix, which could be shown to be c omposed of various collagen types in a typical pattern. Bone consisted of a collagen I matrix with a small rim of collagen III and V at the endosteal lining and a pericellular collagen V staining around osteocy tic holes. In the hypertrophic cartilage of the epiphyseal growth plat e, a typical pattern of collagen types II and X could be found. These observations provide evidence that in well-preserved mummy tissue the antigenic determinants of major matrix components are still adequately preserved for an immunohistochemical analysis. This technique may thu s be a very helpful tool for the analysis of pathologic processes of h istoric bone tissue. It may also allow in certain circumstances a dist inction between pseudopathologic tissue destruction and pathologic tis sue alteration.