Differential staining of skin-limited amyloid and colloid bodies with immunofluorescence after pretreatments.

We examined whether immunoglobulin (Ig) and complement (C) components of amyloid and colloid bodies were inherent parts of these substances or were present due to nonspecific absorption only. In direct immunofluorescence (IF) studies without pretreatment, skin-limited and systemic amyloid and colloid bodies in all cases showed positive staining for Ig or C. When these sections were pretreated with 0.1 M glycine buffer (pH 7.2) or 0.05% Tween-20 solution, Ig and C in skin-limited amyloid deposits were negative or weakly positive. In contrast, positive fluorescence of colloid bodies and systemic amyloid masses was not influenced by pretreatment. Existence of amyloid masses before and after pretreatment were confirmed by Thioflavin-T and Dylon stains. In addition, pretreatment did not alter disulfide bonds by DACM staining or the reactivities of amyloid with monoclonal antikeratin antibody EKH4. These results suggest that skin-limited amyloid can be differentiated from systemic amyloid or colloid bodies by these methods. We can infer from the present studies that most of the Ig and C in skin-limited amyloid masses are a result of nonspecific absorption due to penetration of serum, which is different from Ig in systemic amyloid and colloid bodies in as much as in these conditions immunobinding is specific.