Judy,

Though I am not sure, I don't believe you will be able to find a marker to
distiguish an artery from a vein since they are made up of the same things.
You may be best served to use an endothelial marker and then a light H&E on
the same slide so that you can light up all the vessels and then
differentiate them based on the morphology (veins=thinner walled,
arteries=thicker walled).  Just a suggestion.

Good Luck,
Glen A. Dawson  BS, HT & IHC (ASCP)
Lead IHC Technologist
Milwaukee, WI

-----Original Message-----
From: Judy Trogadis [mailto:trogadisj@smh.toronto.on.ca]
Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2001 9:02 AM
To: histonet@pathology.swmed.edu
Subject: markers for arteries or veins


We are interested in differentiating between arteries and veins in the adult
rat pulmonary vasculature. Are there specific markers or antibodies we could
use? A variety of plant lectins exists which label endothelial cells but the
literature is confusing about their specificities. They may also
preferentially stain only certain organs. 

We are perfusing the rats, and cutting thick sections (~100 microns) on a
vibratome for confocal microscopy. So staining could be carried out either
at the time of perfusion or later, with the sections. A fluorescent marker
is required for the confocal technique. 

I look forward to any suggestions.
Thank you

Judy

Judy Trogadis
Bio-Imaging Coordinator
St. Michael's Hospital, 8Q
30 Bond St.
Toronto, ON M5B 1W8
Canada

ph:  416-864-6060  x6337
fax: 416-864-6043
trogadisj@smh.toronto.on.ca