-Short Review-

Histochemistry for Placenta Research: Theory and Application

Toshihiro Takizawa¹, Hidetaka Eguchi², Shigeki Namimatsu³, Udo Jeschke⁴, Renate Fuchs⁵ and John M. Robinson⁶

¹Department of Molecular Anatomy, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School
²Department of Radiobiology/Molecular Epidemiology, Radiation Effects Research Foundation
³Department of Surgical Pathology, Nippon Medical School
⁴Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Germany
⁵Department of Pathophysiology, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
⁶Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Ohio State University, USA

Histochemical techniques have contributed significantly to advances in placental biology and cell biology. In this mini-review, we describe recent advances in histochemical technologies and show how these technologies can profoundly improve our understanding of placenta morphological function related to health and disease. Fundamental theories and applications of five separate methods discussed here are 1) tissue-based polymerase chain reaction by laser microdissection, 2) a novel antigen retrieval method using citraconic anhydride plus heating, 3) immunohistochemical detection of Lewis-related antigen expression and galectin-1 binding in the human placenta, 4) confocal microscopy analysis of IgG transport in placental trophoblasts, and 5) high-resolution immunofluorescence and correlative microscopy using ultrathin cryosections in placental research. This review article is based on a presentation given in a workshop entitled Histochemistry: Theory and Application at the 12th International Federation of Placenta Associations Meeting held in Kobe, Japan, on September 9, 2006.

J Nippon Med Sch 2007; 74: 268-273

Keywords
placenta, histochemistry

Correspondence to
Toshihiro Takizawa, Department of Molecular Anatomy, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School, 1-1-5 Sendagi, Tokyo 113-8602, Japan
t-takizawa@nms.ac.jp

Received, March 20, 2007
Accepted, April 18, 2007