Immunohistochemistry as a method to study elastic fibers of human vocal fold

Aim: Verify the use of immunohistochemistry as a method to measure all forms of elastic fibers at human vocal folds. Study design: transversal cohort. Material and method: We collected vocal folds following these criterion: age between 25 and 40, Caucasian men, dead by gun shot, within 12 hours of death, without instrumentation of the larynx or suspicion of neck injury and without mucosal lesions noted by microscopy. Ten vocal folds were collected and one, of a man aged 28 years, was selected to study. The vocal fold was transversely cut in 9 regions and in each segment three slides were made. These slides were stained by Verhoeff and Weighert´s resorcin-fuchsin and used for immunohistochemistry. The elastic compound was measured by colorimetric software analysis. Results: In Verhoeff and Weighert´s resorcin-fuchsin, the intermediate and deep layer showed values higher than those of the superficial layer. The amount of tropoelastin identified by the antibody at the superficial layer was close to those of intermediate and deep layer. Conclusions: Immunohistochemistry is a method that can identify and measure all forms of elastic fibers at human vocal fold.