Slide 6. Acid phosphatase liver, Gomori lead method
Explains the Gomori lead method for acid phosphatase in a frozen liver section, covering how the enzyme splits glycerophosphate and how lead ions and ammonium sulphide produce a brown-black deposit. Describes how to recognise the slide: hepatocyte plates with granules near the bile canaliculi, strongly positive Kupffer cells, and a warning not to confuse it with the succinate dehydrogenase slide.
Inside: 1 section · 1 min
Topic 95 of 127 in the MU Sofia syllabus for Cytology (Dental Medicine, Year 1). The free AceMed note covers it in 1 section, about 116 words (1 min of reading).
In this note
Introduction
Introduction
An enzyme histochemistry slide. Acid phosphatase is the marker enzyme of lysosomes, so the slide shows where lysosomes are in liver cells.
Stain
Gomori's method works on frozen sections, which keep the enzyme active. At acid pH the enzyme splits phosphate from glycerophosphate. Lead ions trap the phosphate on the spot as lead phosphate, which ammonium sulphide turns into brown-black lead sulphide.
How to recognise it
Plates of hepatocytes with brown-black granules in their cytoplasm.
The granules gather close to the bile canaliculi.
Kupffer cells (liver macrophages, rich in lysosomes) are strongly positive.
Don't confuse it with: the succinate dehydrogenase slide, which gives blue formazan in mitochondria.
Theory: topics 4 (methods for enzymes) and 20 (lysosomes).
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