Premium
Immunohistochemical detection of interstitial collagens in bone and cartilage tissue remnants in an infant Peruvian mummy
Author(s) -
Nerlich Andreas G.,
Parsche Franz,
Kirsch Thorsten,
Wiest Irmgard,
Von Der Mark Klaus
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.1330910303
Subject(s) - bone decalcification , immunohistochemistry , cartilage , matrix (chemical analysis) , pathology , bone tissue , anatomy , staining , bone matrix , biology , chemistry , medicine , chromatography
We investigated the immunohistochemical presence of various collagen types in bone and cartilage tissue from an infant Peruvian mummy dating between 500 and 1000 A. D. which had been excavated at the necropolis of Las Trancas in the Nazca region in Peru. Following careful rehydration and decalcification of the tissue, the mummy tissue showed morphologically good preservation of the matrix, which could be shown to be composed of various collagen types in a typical pattern. Bone consisted of a collagen I matrix with a small rim of collagen III and V at the endosteal lining and a pericellular collagen V staining around osteocytic holes. In the hypertrophic cartilage of the epiphyseal growth plate, a typical pattern of collagen types II and X could be found. These observations provide evidence that in well‐preserved mummy tissue the antigenic determinants of major matrix components are still adequately preserved for an immunohistochemical analysis. This technique may thus be a very helpful tool for the analysis of pathologic processes of historic bone tissue. It may also allow in certain circumstances a distinction between pseudopathologic tissue destruction and pathologic tissue alteration. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.