Low temperature, heat-induced epitope retrieval on free-floating/whole-mount archival human gynaecological pathology paraffin sections

The detection of nerve fibres in the endometrium of women with endometriosis has led to an interest in studying their relationship with infertility and pain. All studies so far involved in the description of neuronal structures have relied on conventional histological tissue sections. However neuronal networks have rarely been studied in three-dimensions. Biological systems exist and operate in three-dimensional surroundings, therefore it makes good sense to gain access to three-dimensional quantitative information based upon observations made on three-dimensional projections. This study was designed to utlise thick (>/= 50micrometer) formalin fixed sections and low temperature heat-induced epitope retrieval to reveal by immunofluorescence a pan neuronal marker (Protein Gene Product 9.5 ) and cytokeratin marker using laser scanning confocal microscopy. This will allow the quantative assessment of the three-dimensional relationships of endometrial neuronal structures.