Research articleFix the problem - A practical guide to whole-mount immunohistochemistry of teased nerve fibres

- Biocompatible adhesives withstand antibody retrieval and counteract nerve fibre recoil.
- Prefixative permeabilisation allows for epitope detection throughout teased fibre bundles.
- After fixation, antibody penetration requires enzymatic digestion by Proteinase-K.
- Sealed-chamber incubation reduces the volume of required sera to 100-150 μl per 10-15 teased fibre bundles.

BackgroundImmunohistochemical staining of entire nerve fibres allows for studying the molecular composition of functional fibre subunits and may add to the diagnostic value of nerve fibre teasing.New methodIn this study, we established a sealed-slide method for reproducible immunostaining of deep axoplasmic proteins in permanently straightened nerve fibres.ResultsImmunostaining of teased nerve fibres very much is facilitated by tip-fixation with biocompatible glass adhesives. Antibody penetration in fresh nerves can be achieved by thermic and chemical permeabilisation while enzymatic digestion allows for sufficient permeability after aldehyde fixation.Comparison with existing methodsThe methods recommended herein are easy to perform and represent a reliable and reproducible way to whole mount immunostaining.ConclusionsSealed-slide immunostaining of tip-fixed and permeabilised nerve biopsies will help to validate neurophysiological abnormalities and to screen for target molecules and predictive markers of peripheral nerve disorders such as in inherited neuropathies and Guillain-Barré syndrome.