Immunohistochemical evidence of endothelin-1 in human choroid plexus.

An immunohistochemical investigation was carried out on 17 specimens of human choroid plexus obtained post mortem, 1 biopsy of normal choroid plexus including part of the lateral ventricle and 1 papilloma of the choroid plexus removed surgically. The material was fixed in formalin. Paraffin and cryostat sections were used. A polyclonal antiserum to endothelin-1 served as a primary antibody. The avidin-biotin-peroxidase method was applied to demonstrate the immunoreaction. The epithelial cells of the choroid plexuses, the choroid papilloma and most ependymal cells of the lateral ventricle showed a distinct brown reaction product in their cytoplasm indicating antigenic sites to endothelin-1. The reaction was of lesser intensity in the ependymal cells. The connective tissue in choroid plexus was unstained. A positive immunoreaction was present in the walls of some vessels in the choroid plexus in cryostat sections. This is the first report on the presence of antigenic sites to endothelin-1 in the epithelial cells of the human choroid plexus. The role of endothelin in these cells should be investigated to ascertain if the cells synthesize this biologically active peptide or if it is merely bound to receptors in them.