COMBINATION OF SPECIFIC HISTOCHEMICAL STAINING OF EOSINOPHILS AND MAST-CELLS WITH IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL DEMONSTRATION OF NEURAL ANTIGENS

The need to specifically demonstrate multiple tissue components on a s ingle section has led to experimentation with combinations of differen t staining techniques. Eosinophils, mast cells, and neural tissues in the same tissue section were stained with astra blue/vital new red (AB VNR) in combination with immunohistochemical demonstration of neural a ntigens using antibodies specific to neurofilament and S100 proteins. Clear, specific staining of eosinophils, mast cells and nerves was obt ained. This technique can be of considerable use in the study of the r elationship of these inflammatory cells to nerves and may be extended to the simultaneous detection of other tissue components.