Summary
The basic fluorochrome dye acridine orange was applied to different tissues of the rat for staining mast cells. This was performed under different fixation conditions in order to assess the effects of fixative fluids on the resulting fluorescent staining. Under the conditions described, acridine orange has constantly revealed mast cells in bright fluorescence in tissues where they are known to be present normally. The results are discussed in reference to each fixative used. But the method failed to show the “mucosal mast cells” in the stomach and duodenum. This is proposed as a new element for the further characterization of these cells.
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This work was supported by the Medical Research Council of Canada (Grant No. 2,236).
The author is indebted to Mrs. H. Gonzalez for her skillful technical assistance.
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Veilleux, R. Acridine orange fluorescence of mast cells as influenced by fixation. Histochemie 23, 319–327 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00278362
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00278362