Preparation of Immunofluorescently Labeled Tissue Sections for Imaging at Low and High Magnifications in the Confocal Microscope

Abstract

The confocal laser scanning microscope allows us to examine tissue sections in greater detail than a widefield fluorescence microscope. However, this requires samples to be better preserved than standard cryostat sections, which are not usually aldehyde-fixed. Thick sections (approximately 70 μm) of formaldehyde-fixed tissue can be cut using a vibrating microtome and subsequently labeled with primary and secondary fluorescent antibodies and/or fluorescent stains. When imaged in the confocal microscope, these samples allow us to collect high-resolution images, detailing the intracellular location of multiple proteins and structures. In this chapter, we describe the technique used to prepare vibrating microtome sections, using porcine tissue infected with African swine fever virus as an example. This technique can easily be applied to any animal tissue with any suitable combination of antibodies, depending on the hypothesis.

Keywords: African swine fever virus; Aldehyde fixation; Animal tissue sections; Confocal microscopy; Immunofluorescence labeling; Vibrating microtome.