Detergents such as Triton and saponin "permeabilize" cell membranes by
making holes in them. This is a physical process that simply makes a "door"
for the antibody to enter the cell. Usually this is done on whole-cell preps
such as cell smears and cytospins in which the cell membrane is usually
intact. It can be done on frozen sections, however it is usually not done on
paraffin-embedded tissue since that is normally fixed. The process is very
different than the "antigen retreival" techniques we use on paraffin
sections which are designed to break formalin/protein bonds. 

Tim Morken
CDC, Atlanta


-----Original Message-----
From: Greg Dobbin [mailto:dobbin@Upei.CA]
Sent: Tuesday, August 06, 2002 12:55 PM
To: histonet@pathology.swmed.edu
Subject: Ag retreival vs. Permeabilizing


Hello All,

I found a "Brief Communication" in Vet Pathology (38:116-119; 
2001) that discusses expression of COX-2 in canine renal 
carcinomas. The authors do not mention antigen retreival, rather, 
they speak of permeabilizing the tissues using triton and 
saponin. Is permeabilizing (as described) a form of antigen 
retreival or does it serve another purpose?

Has anyone else heard of this before? Explanation??
Thanks,
Greg
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Greg Dobbin
Pathology Lab
Atlantic Veterinary College, U.P.E.I.
550 University Ave.
Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Canada,  C1A 4P3
Phone: (902)566-0744
Fax: (902)566-0851
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"A farmer is a person outstanding in their field."