[Histonet] Derm IHC question

[Debra Siena]

Hello fellow Histonetters
I would like to ask you a question about IHC staining and derm cases.  I am seeing a peculiar issue going on, where the melanocytes in the middle of the tissues are staining pretty well but when you get to the ends of the tissues either shaves or ellipses, they are not staining. This is sporadic, not every case and there is no consensus as to a common thread between the cases.    I feel that this may be a fixation issue but was just wondering if anyone had ever seen the same phenomena and would be willing to share the theory or even better what was the remedy behind this issue.  The fixative is 10% Neutral Buffered Formaliln  and the cells in question that are "dropping out" which is what the pathologist is describing are melanocytes, especially with Sox-10 and Mart 1 antibodies.
Thanks for the assistance, I definitely appreciate it very much.

Best wishes,

[image001]  Debbie Siena, HT(ASCP)QIHC
Empowering Anatomic Pathology
Technical Support Manager, StatLab
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