https://www.ejh.it/ejh/issue/feedEuropean Journal of Histochemistry2024-03-06T07:35:02+00:00Nadia Moscatonadia.moscato@pagepress.orgOpen Journal Systems<p>The <strong>European Journal of Histochemistry </strong>has been an influential cytology journal for over 60 years, publishing research articles on functional cytology and histology in animals and plants. The <strong>European Journal of Histochemistry </strong>offers original research articles investigating on structural and molecular components performed by histochemical and immunohistochemical methods, at light and electron microscopy, cytometry and imaging techniques.</p> <p>Areas of particular interest include cell differentiation, senescence and death, and cell-cell interactions in normal and pathological tissues; attention is also given to articles on newly developed or originally applied histochemical and microscopical techniques.</p> <p>Since its foundation in 1954, the <strong>European Journal of Histochemistry </strong>is the official organ of the <a href="https://www.istochimica.it/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Italian Society of Histochemistry</strong></a> and, since 2022, of the <strong><a href="https://www.gisn.it/main/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Italian Group for the Study of Neuromorphology</a> </strong>(G.I.S.N.).</p>https://www.ejh.it/ejh/article/view/39701954-2024: 70 years of histochemical research with the European Journal of Histochemistry2024-01-29T14:36:30+00:00Carlo Pellicciariejh.editor@pagepress.orgMarco Biggiogeramarco.biggiogera@unipv.itManuela Malatestamanuela.malatesta@univr.it<p>This Editorial celebrates the 70<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the <em>European Journal of Histochemistry</em> since its foundation as <em>Rivista di Istochimica Normale e Patologica</em>, and introduces a Special Collection of selected articles on the application of the histochemical approach for investigating cell biological features and processes in animals and plants, and under diseased conditions. The year 2024 is a special one for histochemists, as 100 years ago J.W. Robert Feulgen and H. Rossenbeck introduced the histochemical procedure for the specific stoichiometric staining of DNA in histological samples: to commemorate this influential publication, three papers in the present issue are devoted to the application of the Feulgen reaction at light and electron microscopy, and in cytometry.</p>2024-01-29T00:00:00+00:00Copyright (c) 2024 The Author(s)https://www.ejh.it/ejh/article/view/3950Giving bodies to ghosts: locating molecules in the very place where they exert their biological roles2024-01-29T14:36:37+00:00Ernesto Capannaernesto.capanna@uniroma1.itCarloAlberto Redicarloalberto.redi@unipv.it<p>This paper reviews some of the goals of our investigations published over the years on <em>Rivista di Istochimica Normale e Patologica</em>, <em>Basic and Applied Histochemistry</em>, and the <em>European Journal of Histochemistry</em> - <em>EJH</em>. In a series of papers, we published some of the basic cytochemical features of the sperm cytodifferentiation process for the first time. This was a conceptual and practical prerequisite to the <em>in situ</em> quantitative evaluation of sperm DNA content. We showed that the discrepancy between the expected 1:2 ratio when comparing sperm versus somatic cell DNA content (sperm DNA content is always far low from the theoretical value) is due to DNA losses caused by the hydrochloric treatment entailed by the Feulgen reaction. The knowledge of the specific losses that occur during the various steps of the Feulgen reaction has allowed us to use it critically in Genome Size studies to highlight: - sperm aneuploidy in chromosomally derived subfertility; - the broad variability range of Mammalian genome sizes; - that termites are roaches (after decades of discussion on this topic). In addition, in a seminal paper on human oocytes, we showed (by transmission electron microscopy) a specific chromatin and cytoplasmic organization (both essential for further embryo development) linked to oocyte maturation arrest, a datum quite relevant to treating unmet therapeutic needs in human and veterinary reproduction.</p>2024-01-29T00:00:00+00:00Copyright (c) 2024 The Author(s)https://www.ejh.it/ejh/article/view/3971The Feulgen reaction: from pink-magenta to rainbow fluorescent at the Maffo Vialli’s School of Histochemistry2024-02-22T07:54:23+00:00Giuliano Mazzinigiuliano.mazzini@igm.cnr.it<p>For over a century, Palazzo Botta (Palace Botta) has housed the University of Pavia's Biomedical Institutes. Illustrious scientists have conducted research and taught at this Palace, making significant contributions to the advancement of natural, biological, and medical science. Among them, Camillo Golgi received the Nobel Prize for discovering the so-called "black reaction." Following Golgi, the Palace continued to be a hub for the development of methodologies and reactions aimed at detecting and quantifying biological components. Maffo Vialli (in the Golgi stream) was the first to establish a Histochemistry Research Group, which began in the naturalistic field and later expanded to the biomedical area. Among the many histochemical studies initiated in the Palace, the Feulgen reaction undoubtedly played a significant role. This reaction, developed R. Feulgen and H. Rossenbeck in 1924, had significant international implications: numerous researchers then contributed to define its fine chemical details, which remained the subject of study for years, resulting in a massive international scientific literature. The Pavia School of Histochemistry also contributed to the evolution and application of this method, which has become a true benchmark in quantitative histochemistry. Giovanni Prenna and the CNR Centre for Histochemistry made significant contributions, as they were already focused on fluorescence cytochemistry. The Pavia researchers made significant contributions to the development of methodology and, in particular, instrumentation; the evolution of the latter resulted in the emergence of flow cytometry and an ever-increasing family of fluorescent probes, which somewhat overshadowed the Feulgen reaction for DNA quantification. The advent of monoclonal antibodies then contributed to the final explosion of flow cytometry in clinical application, almost making young neophytes forget that its roots date back to Feulgen.</p>2024-02-22T00:00:00+00:00Copyright (c) 2024 The Author(s)https://www.ejh.it/ejh/article/view/3989The Feulgen reaction at the electron microscopy level2024-02-23T07:58:02+00:00Marco Biggiogeramarco.biggiogera@unipv.it<p>The Feulgen reaction has been the first specific method for detecting DNA available at light microscopy since 1924. However, a similar specific method was proposed for electron microscopy only 50 years later. Here, we discuss the problems encountered in finding the electrondense reagent capable of taking advantage of the extremely high resolution offered by electron microscopy as well as some applications of the method.</p>2024-02-23T00:00:00+00:00Copyright (c) 2024 The Author(s)https://www.ejh.it/ejh/article/view/3959Lectins as versatile tools to explore cellular glycosylation2024-01-29T14:36:34+00:00Susan Brookssbrooks@brookes.ac.uk<p>Lectins are naturally occurring carbohydrate-binding proteins that are ubiquitous in nature and highly selective for their, often incompletely characterised, binding partners. From their discovery in the late 1880s to the present day, they have provided a broad palette of versatile tools for exploring the glycosylation of cells and tissues and for uncovering the myriad functions of glycosylation in biological systems. The technique of lectin histochemistry, used to map the glycosylation of tissues, has been instrumental in revealing the changing profile of cellular glycosylation in development, health and disease. It has been especially enlightening in revealing fundamental alterations in cellular glycosylation that accompany cancer development and metastasis, and has facilitated the identification of glycosylated biomarkers that can predict prognosis and may have utility in development of early detection and screening, Moreover, it has led to insights into the functional role of glycosylation in healthy tissues and in the processes underlying disease. Recent advances in biotechnology mean that our understanding of the precise binding partners of lectins is improving and an ever-wider range of lectins are available, including recombinant human lectins and lectins with enhanced, engineered properties. Moreover, use of traditional histochemistry to support a broad range of cutting-edge technologies and the development of high throughout microarray platforms opens the way for ever more sophisticated mapping – and understanding – of the glycome.</p>2024-01-29T00:00:00+00:00Copyright (c) 2024 The Author(s)https://www.ejh.it/ejh/article/view/3977Senescence-associated ß-galactosidase staining over the lifespan differs in a short- and a long-lived fish species2024-02-29T08:05:28+00:00Simon Schöfern51804279@students.meduniwien.ac.atSylvia Laffersylvia.laffer@meduniwien.ac.atStefanie Kirchbergerstefanie.kirchberger@ccri.atMichael Kothmayermichael.kothmayer@meduniwien.ac.atRenate Löhnertrenate.loehnert@meduniwien.ac.atElmar E. Ebnerelmar.ebner@vetmeduni.ac.atKlara Weipoltshammerklara.weipoltshammer@meduniwien.ac.atMartin Distelmartin.distel@ccri.atOliver Puscholiver.pusch@meduniwien.ac.atChristian Schöferchristian.schoefer@meduniwien.ac.at<p>During the aging process, cells can enter cellular senescence, a state in which cells leave the cell cycle but remain viable. This mechanism is thought to protect tissues from propagation of damaged cells and the number of senescent cells has been shown to increase with age. The speed of aging determines the lifespan of a species and it varies significantly in different species. To assess the progress of cellular senescence during lifetime, we performed a comparative longitudinal study using histochemical detection of the senescence-associated beta-galactosidase as senescence marker to map the staining patterns in organs of the long-lived zebrafish and the short-lived turquoise killifish using light- and electron microscopy. We compared age stages corresponding to human stages of newborn, childhood, adolescence, adult and old age. We found tissue-specific but conserved signal patterns with respect to organ distribution. However, we found dramatic differences in the onset of tissue staining. The stained zebrafish organs show little to no signal at newborn age followed by a gradual increase in signal intensity, whereas the organs of the short-lived killifish show an early onset of staining already at newborn stage, which remains conspicuous at all age stages. The most prominent signal was found in liver, intestine, kidney and heart, with the latter showing the most prominent interspecies divergence in onset of staining and in staining intensity. In addition, we found staining predominantly in epithelial cells, some of which are post-mitotic, such as the intestinal epithelial lining. We hypothesize that the association of the strong and early-onset signal pattern in the short-lived killifish is consistent with a protective mechanism in a fast growing species. Furthermore, we believe that staining in post-mitotic cells may play a role in maintaining tissue integrity, suggesting different roles for cellular senescence during life.</p>2024-02-29T00:00:00+00:00Copyright (c) 2024 The Author(s)https://www.ejh.it/ejh/article/view/3990The role of galanin in the progression and prognosis of colorectal cancer: the unfinished story2024-03-06T07:35:02+00:00Zbigniew Kmieczbigniew.kmiec@gumed.edu.plJacek Kieżunjacek.kiezun@uwm.edu.plBartlomiej E. Krazinskibartlomiej.krazinski@uwm.edu.plPrzemyslaw Kwiatkowskiprzemkw4@gmail.comJanusz Godlewskijanusz.godlewski@uwm.edu.pl<p>The paper presents a summary of immunohistochemical (IHC) and biochemical investigations on the presence of galanin (Gal), one of the neuropeptides abundant in the enteric nervous systems, and three types of its receptors (GalR1-3) in colorectal cancer (CRC) tissue and non-involved colon wall and their associations with clinical-pathological data of the CRC patients. We were the first to morphologically demonstrate the presence of endogenous Gal in CRC sections and measure its content in homogenates of tumor tissue and dissected compartments of unchanged colon wall. The prominent atrophy of myenteric plexuses displaying Gal immunoreactivity (Gal-Ir) located close to the tumor invasion was found to be accompanied by higher Gal content in the tumor-adjacent muscularis externa than in tumor-distant tissue. In further studies for the first time, we demonstrated by the IHC technique the presence of the GalR1-3 receptors in the CRC tumors and the colon mucosa and found that higher GalR3-Ir in the tumor tissue correlated with longer overall survival of CRC patients. Furthermore, we discovered that lower GalR1 expression in submucosal plexuses located near the tumor correlated with a better prognosis in patients with CRC. These findings suggest that GalR1 could be considered as a novel therapeutic target in CRC. In conclusion, our morphological investigations provided novel data documenting the involvement of Gal and its receptors in the progression of CRC and showed the usefulness of the IHC technique for the prognosis of CRC patients.</p>2024-03-06T00:00:00+00:00Copyright (c) 2024 The Author(s)