[Histonet] HIER to repair dried specimens?

[crochieresteve <@t> aol.com]

I have accidentally stumbled on an unexplainable "by product" of HIER in citrate buffer, pH6.0.
We had some specimens that had unfortunately air dried prior to fixation and processing and therefore looked terrible. The H&E was practically unreadable due to drying artifact. In an effort to see something worthwhile, IHC stains were ordered. The hematoxylin counterstain, following retrieval showed much better nuclear detail than the original H&E. Several additional slides were cut and stained with H&E following HIER. They were much better. This has been repeated on a few other specimens with similar results. Any ideas as to how or why this is working?
thanks
sc