Detection of macrophages in human and rat heart using a single antibody variant

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Resident macrophages of the myocardium are necessary for the normal development and functioning of the cardiovascular system and play an important role in the pathogenesis of a number of cardiovascular diseases. AIM: To develop a universal methodological approach for the immunohistochemical identification of macrophages in the human and rat myocardium. MATERIAL AND METHODS: For the study, samples of the myocardium of people of both sexes aged from 28 to 52 years (n=7) and Wistar female rats (at the age of 15 months, (n=5)) were used. The work was performed using immunohistochemical staining method. RESULTS: The possibility of using polyclonal antibodies against the calcium-binding protein Iba1, which is a well-known microglial marker marker, for the detection of macrophages in the myocardium was shown. An optimal drug processing protocol was developed, the use of which makes it possible to equally effectively detect macrophages in the human and rat myocardium using only one antibody variant. CONCLUSION: A universal methodological approach has been proposed for the identification of macrophages in the human and rat myocardium, which can be successfully used in scientific and clinical diagnostic studies.