Immunohistochemical study of fibronectin and laminin in cryopreserved human skins

AIM: To find out the distribution of fibronectin and laminin in cryopreserved skins and to investigate its relationship with cryoinjury. METHODS: Human skins were divided into 5 groups; one group was fixed immediately after harvest and the other four groups were fixed after being stored at 4℃, -20℃, -80℃ or -196℃ respectively. Fibronectin (FN) and laminin (LN) expression in them were observed with Immunohistochemical staining. RESULTS: Compared with those of the normal skin, the histological structure and FN and LN levels of skins stored at -196℃ in H anti frozen liquid did not show significant changes, while those in groups kept at 4℃, -20℃ and -80℃ changed significantly. CONCLUSION: The skin cryoinjury is associated with the loss of FN and LN in extracellular matrix.