In order to delineate the effects of death on the immunofluorescence
of
autonomic nerves supplying the
human ventricular myocardium, we studied percutaneous myocardial samples
obtained postmortem from 5
individuals within 3 h of death. Subsequent samples were obtained daily
from the same individuals up to a
total of 5–11 d. The antibodies employed included those against protein
gene product 9.5 to demonstrate
nervous tissue, dopamine β-hydroxylase and tyrosine hydroxylase
to reveal catecholaminergic neural tissue
and neuropeptide Y. An indirect immunofluorescence technique using the
avidin-biotin method was
employed. The density of myocardial protein gene product 9.5 immunoreactive
nerves declined on the 7th
day, and became markedly diminished by the 11th day. Immunoreactive dopamine
β-hydroxylase nerves
decreased on the 5th day, and were difficult to idenitify by the 9th day.
The density of tyrosine hydroxylase
and neuropeptide Y containing nerves rapidly diminished on the 3rd and
4th days, and became undetectable
by the 7th and 8th days, respectively. The present results indicate that,
depending on the type of antibodies
used, immunohistochemical techniques can be used on human hearts obtained
up to within 6 d of death to study cardiac innervation.