HI Brett:

    Both Mac1 and F4/80 work well on mouse microglia, activated or not. I use frozen sections of paraformaldehyde fixed, cryoprotected brain and  a Vector ABC Elite kit with DAB + nickel and cobalt. Both antibodies are considered quite specific for markers found on mouse microglia and macrophages. I have also stained Kupffer cells in mouse liver with Mac1.
    I have not had success with lectins with mouse microglia although they seem to work well on rat microglia. The lectins that do stain rat microglia (Griffonia something or other) also stain small, unmyelinated fibers in spinal cord so specificity is a problem there.

Geoff

"Connolly, Brett M" wrote:

> All,
> Does anyone have suggestions or experience for IHC staining of activated
> murine microglia. I have heard about using CD11b, but am not sure if it is
> specific for activated cells...and I take it the F4/80 and MAC3 are not
> specific for activation either. The staining would be performed on
> cryosections and can be either fluorescent or chromogenic.
> Thanks,
> Brett
>
> Brett M. Connolly, Ph.D.
> Merck Research Laboratories
> Dept. of Neuroscience
> WP26A-3000
> PO Box 4
> West Point, PA 19486
> pH 215-652-2501
> fax. 215-652-2075
> e-mail. brett_connolly@merck.com
>

--
**********************************************
Geoff McAuliffe, Ph.D.
Neuroscience and Cell Biology
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
675 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08854
voice: (732)-235-4583; fax: -4029
mcauliff@um