Immunoelectron Microscopic Analysis of Cornified Cell Envelopes and Antigen Retrieval

In this chapter, postembedding immunoelectron microscopy methods for studies of cornified cell envelopes are provided. Human epidermal tissue samples are used as the material. The samples are cryofixed without chemical fixation, freeze-substituted at a low temperature, and embedded in Lowicryl K11M resin. For immunostaining, colloidal gold-conjugated secondary antibodies are used. Methods for retrieval of masked epitopes are also described.