An Immunohistochemical Study of Canine Tissues with Vimentin, Desmin, Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein, and Neurofilament Antisera

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Abstract
In a wide range of canine tissue the immunoreactivity with commercially available antisera against intermediate filament antigens viz. vimentin, desmin, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and neurofilament proteins, was studied. In addition, the results of formalin and Carnoy fixation were compared. Carnoy fixation appeared to result in optimal reactivity for all antisera. Epithelial cells did not react with any of the antisera, with exception of ovarian surface epithelium, which showed staining with the vimentin and desmin antisera. The vimetin antiserum induced staining of several cell types vis. fibroblasts, endothelial cells, chrondrocytes, Schwann cells, ependymal cells, astrocytes, Leydig cells, synovial cells, podocytes and some parietal cells of Bowman''s capsule. Sertoli cells showed a faint staining reaction. Muscle cells in various tissues reacted with the desmin antiserum. In the kidney varying number of parietal cells appeared to react as did a restricted number of epithelial cells of proximal tubules and loops of Henle. GFAP reactivity was confined to glial cells, predominantly fibrous astrocytes, Schwann cells and axons. Additionally, some neuronal cell bodies in peripheral ganglia showed staining of varying intensity. Neurofilament staining was restricted to axons and some neurons. The immunoreactivity of canine tissues with these antisera is compared to findings in other species. The results confirm a broad interspecies cross-reactivity of these antisera. They can be used in studying the nature of canine tissues.