Application of the protein A-gold technique for electron microscopic demonstration of polypeptide hormones.

The protein A-gold (pAg) technique enables the electron microscopic detection of antigenic material on thin sections of aldehyde-fixed and Epon-embedded tissue. Application of this technique to the endocrine pancreas and gastrointestinal mucosa using antisera against insulin, glucagon, somatostatin, pancreatic polypeptide, gastrin, and neurotensin allowed these polypeptides to be localized in the secretory granules of the corresponding specific cell types. The small size of marker gold particles permitting the precise identification of the labeled organelles coupled to the high specificity of the binding represent further evidence that the protein A-gold technique can be used as a general cytochemical reagent for the visualization of antigen-bound antibodies on thin sections.