A comprehensive antibody panel for immunohistochemical analysis of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded hematopoietic neoplasms of mice: analysis of mouse specific and human antibodies cross-reactive with murine tissue.

Immunohistochemistry is an indispensable tool in human pathology enabling immunophenotypic characterization of tumor cells. Immunohistochemical analyses of mouse models of human hematopoietic neoplasias have become an important aspect for comparison of murine entities with their human counterparts. The aim of this study was to establish a diagnostic antibody panel for analysis of murine lymphomas/leukemias, useful in formalin-fixed/paraffin-embedded tissue. Overall, 48 antibodies (4 rabbit monoclonal, 12 rabbit polyclonal, 2 goat polyclonal, 11 rat, and 19 mouse monoclonal), which were either mouse-specific (14) or cross-reactive with murine tissue (34) were tested for staining quality and diagnostic value in 468 murine hematopoietic neoplasms. Specific staining was achieved with 29 antibodies, of which 18 were human antibodies cross-reactive with murine tissue. Only 23 (B220, BCL-2, BCL-6, CD117, CD138 (2x), CD3 (2x), CD43, CD45, CD5, CD79 alpha cy, cyclin D1, Ki-67 (2x), Mac-3, Mac-2, lysozyme, mast cell tryptase, MPO, Pax-5, TdT, and TER-119) were regarded as valuable for diagnostic evaluation. Immunohistochemistry was also established in an automated immunostainer for high throughput analysis. The antibody panel developed is useful for the classification of murine lymphomas and leukemias analyzed, and a valuable tool for human and veterinary pathologists involved in the diagnostic interpretation of murine models of hematopoietic neoplasias.