Detecting Glycogen in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells with Periodic Acid Schiff Staining

The overall goal of this procedure is to visualize the glycogen content of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. This is accomplished by first isolating P BMCs from human whole blood using density gradient centrifugation. The second step is to prepare sample slides by smearing or pipetting the blood cells, and then treating them with fixative solution, followed by washing next for a negative control.

Half of the slide is immersed in amylase solution, which dissolves glycogen polymers, followed by a wash. Now the samples are stained with periodic acid solution followed by a wash. The final step is to add the shift's reagent followed by a wash.