High resolution neurochemical gold staining method for myelin in peripheral and

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Cell Tissue Res. 2009 Jun 10.

High resolution neurochemical gold staining method for myelin in peripheral and

central nervous system at the light- and electron-microscopic level.

Savaskan NE, Meier S, Weinmann O, Heimrich B, Eyupoglu IY.

Brain Research Institute, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) and

University Zurich, Winterthurerstrassse 190, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland.

Myelin is a multilamellar membrane structure primarily composed of lipids and

myelin proteins essential for proper neuronal function. Since myelin is a target

structure involved in many pathophysiological conditions such as metabolic,

viral, and autoimmune diseases and genetic myelin disorders, a reliable myelin

detection technique is required that is equally suitable for light- and

electron-microscopic analysis.

Here, we report that single myelinated fibers are specifically stained by the

gold phosphate complex, Black gold, which stains myelin in the brain, spinal

cord, and peripheral nerve fibers in a reliable manner.

Electron-microscopic and morphometric analyses have revealed that gold particles

are equally distributed in the inner, compact, and outer myelin layers. In

contrast to Luxol fast blue, the gold dye stains proteinase-sensitive myelin

structures, indicating its selective labeling of myelin-specific proteins.

Aiming at defining the target of gold staining, we performed staining in several

mouse myelin mutants. Gold complex distribution and myelin staining in

MBP(-/-)/shiverer mouse mutants was comparable with that seen in wild-type mice

but revealed a more clustered Black gold distribution.

This gold staining method thus provides a sensitive and specific high-resolution

marker for both central and peripheral myelin sheaths; it also allows the

quantitative analysis of myelinated fibers at the light- and

electron-microscopic level suitable for investigations of myelin and axonal

disorders.