Comparison of histological techniques to visualize iron in paraffin-embedded brain tissue of patients with Alzheimer's disease.
Better knowledge of the distribution of iron in the brains of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients may facilitate the development of an in vivo magnetic resonance (MR) marker for AD and may cast light on the role of this potentially toxic molecule in the pathogenesis of AD. Several histological iron staining techniques have been used in the past but they have not been systematically tested for sensitivity and specificity. This article compares three histochemical techniques and ferritin immunohistochemistry to visualize iron in paraffin-embedded human AD brain tissue. The specificity of the histochemical techniques was tested by staining sections after iron extraction. Iron was demonstrated in the white matter, in layers IV/V of the frontal neocortex, in iron containing plaques, and in microglia. In our hands, these structures were best visualized using the Meguro iron stain, a method that has not been described for iron staining in human brain or AD in particular. Ferritin immunohistochemistry stained microglia and iron containing plaques similar to the Meguro method but was less intense in myelin-associated iron. The Meguro method is most suitable for identifying iron-positive structures in paraffin-embedded human AD brain tissue.
['van Duijn|Sara|S|', 'Nabuurs|Rob J A|RJ|', 'van Duinen|Sjoerd G|SG|', 'Natté|Remco|R|']
D000368:Aged D000369:Aged, 80 and over D000544:Alzheimer Disease D001921:Brain D005293:Ferritins D006651:Histocytochemistry D006801:Humans D007150:Immunohistochemistry D007501:Iron D008875:Middle Aged D016612:Paraffin Embedding D058225:Plaque, Amyloid
iron brain ferritin plaques microglia Alzheimer’s disease