A Study on an Electron-Immunoperoxidase Method

Abstract

UItrastructural studies of membranous nephropathy and proliferative glomerulonephritis were performed by an electron-immunoperoxidase method. PLP (periodate-lysin-paraformaldehyde) fixa-tive solution preserved the antigenicity of IgG and IgA, and the ultrastructure of the renal glo-merulus well. The peroxidase-labelled Fab' fraction of IgG penetrated well into the mesangium matrix and the basement membrane of the renal glomerulus of the frozen section specimen (6μm), but the peroxidase-labelled IgG did not penetrate into either tissues. In membranous nephropathy, IgG deposits were recognized mainly in the subepithelial space and were also present in the subendothelial space of the glomerulur basement membrane and other points (lamina densa, endothelial cell membrane and polynuclear leucocyte cellular surface). The combination method using PLP fixative solution, peroxidase-labelled Fab' fraction of IgG and frozen section method (6μm) can be used with reliability to identify the localization of im-munoglobulins in the renal glomerulus.