An Immunohistochemical Method for Identifying Fibroblasts in Formalin-fixed, Paraffin-embedded Tissue

Tracy Goodpaster ¹, Aster Legesse-Miller ¹, Meera R. Hameed ¹, Seena C. Aisner ¹, Julie Randolph-Habecker ¹ and Hilary A. Coller ^1*

¹ Experimental Histopathology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington (TG,JR-H); Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey (AL-M,HAC); and Department of Pathology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, New Jersey (MRH,SCA)

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: hcoller{at}princeton.edu.

Submitted on June 6, 2007
Accepted on 15 November 2007

	Abstract

Fibroblasts are critical for tissue homeostasis, and their inappropriate proliferation and activation can result in common and debilitating conditions including fibrosis and cancer. We currently have a poor understanding of the mechanisms that control the growth and activation of fibroblasts in vivo, in part due to a lack of suitable fibroblast markers. We have taken advantage of an antibody previously shown to stain stromal cells in frozen tissues (TE-7), and identified conditions in which it can be used to stain fibroblasts and myofibroblasts in the paraffin-embedded tissue samples routinely collected for pathological analysis. We show that this antibody recognizes growing and quiescent fibroblasts and myofibroblasts by immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence and ELISA assays. We also present its staining patterns in normal tissue samples and in breast tumors.

Key Words: fibroblasts, immunohistochemistry, TE-7

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