IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL IDENTIFICATION OF LEUKOCYTE POPULATIONS IN NORMALTISSUE AND INFLAMED SYNOVIUM OF THE RABBIT

A panel of monoclonal antibodies which recognizes well-defined markers of rabbit leucocytes has been used in an immunohistochemical survey o f normal rabbit spleen, thymus, and liver, and of inflamed synovial ti ssue. The results demonstrate that these antibodies are well suited fo r the identification of leucocytes in frozen sections of rabbit tissue s and that T lymphocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils can be readily distinguished. Antibodies to CD44 differentiate between medullary and cortical thymocytes, with the cortical cells being almost entirely neg ative for this marker. Antibodies to RLA class II show that periportal lymphocytes in the liver express RLA-DR but not RLA-DQ. The type A ce lls of the synovial lining from inflamed joint tissue are stained by a ntibodies that recognize macrophages in a manner similar to that found in the human synovial lining.