Postembedding light- and electron microscopic immunocytochemistry of amino acids: description of a new model system allowing identical conditions for specificity testing and tissue processing.

Specificity testing should be performed under conditions identical to or closely similar to those of the immunocytochemical procedure. This paper describes a new model system that meets this requirement for postembedding immunocytochemistry of amino acids at the light- and electron microscopic levels. Test conjugates, obtained by reacting different amino acids with brain macromolecules in the presence of glutaraldehyde, were freeze-dried and embedded in an epoxy resin (Durcupan) exactly as for brain tissue. One section from each of the embedded amino acid conjugates and from a brain protein-glutaraldehyde conjugate (without amino acid) were piled on top of each other and embedded anew. Transverse semithin (0.5 micron) and ultrathin sections were cut through the stack. These test sections, in which all the different conjugates were represented, were then processed in the same drops of sera as the tissue sections to permit identical conditions for testing and immunocytochemistry. After immunogold labelling for electron microscopy, a quantitative expression of crossreactivity was obtained by computer-assisted calculation of gold particle densities over the different conjugates. The antisera used in the present study (glutamate antiserum 13, taurine antiserum 20, and GABA antiserum 26) showed highly selective labelling of the respective amino acid conjugates and produced distinct labelling patterns in simultaneously processed cerebellar sections.