Visualisation of kupffer cells in the rat liver with poly- and monoclonal antibodies against microglial-specific protein Iba-1

BACKGROUND: A necessary attribute of any study, which is related to the cell biology of various structural components of the digestive tract, is the usage of modern immunohistochemical methods. One of the most difficult objects are resident liver macrophages, or Kupffer cells. This determines the high significance to develop a reliable approach for Kupffer cells visualization. AIM: The aim of the study was to develop a protocol for the immunohistochemical research of Kupffer cells in rat liver using two types of primary antibodies against Iba-1, and to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of this approach, taking into account the use of zinc-ethanol-formaldehyde as a fixative. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was carried out on liver samples of adult Wistar rats (n = 5). Goat polyclonal and rabbit monoclonal antibodies against calcium-binding protein Iba-1 were used for the ligh microscopy immunohistochemistry assay of resident liver macrophages. RESULTS: Using two types of antibodies it was shown by quantitative analysis that rabbit monoclonal antibodies most completely reveal Iba-1-immunopositive structures compared to goat polyclonal antibodies. Fixation with zinc-ethanol-formaldehyde made it possible to reveal Iba-1-immunopositive cells in all studied rat liver samples. CONCLUSIONS: Iba-1 immunohistochemistry using rabbit monoclonal antibodies was considered as the most optimal immunohistochemical approach. Fixation with zinc-ethanol-formaldehyde preserves the antigenic epitopes and allows the effective use of different antibodies.