Immunohistochemical staining properties of human skin and some related tumors.

The application of the fluorescein-labeled anti body as an immunohistochemical stain by the methods developed by Coons and co-workers (2) has brought a new dimension to histology. With the fluorescein-label technic, it is possible to demonstrate antigenic elements in common among various tissues and to determine the cellular loca tion of these elements. This technic can be of major importance in connection with the compari son of the composition of cancer tissue with normal tissue. If antiserum prepared against a neoplasm stains the neoplastic cells but does not react at all with cells of a particular tissue, one may use this as an indication that the neoplasm either was not derived from that tissue or had lost all its crossreacting components. The latter situation does not seem probable. Moreover, if it is assumed that a neoplasm arising from a particular tissue will still maintain antigenic components similar to its origin, i.e., will not have lost all the original com ponents in transformation to neoplasm, then it would be possible for an investigator to determine from which tissues the tumor might be derived. In the work reported here, a study was made of antibodies prepared against human epidermis and also antibodies prepared against a human malig nant melanoma.