POSTMORTEM CHANGES IN THE IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL DEMONSTRATION OF NERVESIN HUMAN VENTRICULAR MYOCARDIUM

In order to delineate the effects of death on the immunofluorescence o f autonomic nerves supplying the human ventricular myocardium, we stud ied percutaneous myocardial samples obtained postmortem from 5 individ uals within 3 h of death. Subsequent samples were obtained daily from the same individuals up to a total of 5-11 d. The antibodies employed included those against protein gene product 9.5 to demonstrate nervous tissue, dopamine P-hydroxylase and tyrosine hydroxylase to reveal cat echolaminergic neural tissue and neuropeptide Y. An indirect immunoflu orescence technique using the avidin-biotin method was employed. The d ensity of myocardial protein gene product 9.5 immunoreactive nerves de clined on the 7th day, and became markedly diminished by the 11th day. Immunoreactive dopamine P-hydroxylase nerves decreased on the 5th day , and were difficult to idenitify by the 9th day. The density of tyros ine hydroxylase and neuropeptide Y containing nerves rapidly diminishe d on the 3rd and 4th days, and became undetectable by the 7th and 8th days, respectively. The present results indicate that, depending on th e type of antibodies used, immunohistochemical techniques can be used on human hearts obtained up to within 6 d of death to study cardiac in nervation.