Immunohistochemistry: Basics and Methods

This concise yet comprehensive guide to the methods and protocols of immunohistochemistry covers established techniques and current developments in the field such as the use of epitope tags, multiple immunolabeling and diagnostic immunohistochemistry.

---

Combiningtwodifferentscienti?cdisciplines morphologyandimmunochemistry immunohistochemistryhasdevelopedasanimportantinstrumentinresearchand clinicalpathology. A basicunderstandingofunderlying principlesandpotential problemsisunavoidableifyouwanttobesuccessfulinyouruseofimmunohis- chemistry,aswellasingettingyourpaperspublishedandyourresearchgrants funded. Whilemanyexcellenttextsandmonographsexistwhichcovervariousaspects ofimmunohistochemistry,thelackofaconcisecomprehensiveguidetousing thesemethodswasamajormotivationforwritingthisbook. Ourintentionwasto createaneasy-to-readandfocusedresourcebasedonstate-of-the-artinformation forabroadaudiencerangingfromstudentsandtechnicalassistantstoexperienced researchers. Thishandbookhasaconciseformat,withprotocolsandinstructionsfor methodsimmediatelyfollowingtheshortintroductorytheoreticalmaterialineach chapter. BeingconsciousofthegrowingroleofInternetasaninformationsource, wehavefounditreasonableinmanycasestosubstitutecitingbooksandjournal publications with corresponding Internet websites. Where possible, commercial sourcesofreagents,kits,andequipmentarelistedthroughoutthetextinsteadof inaseparateindex. Thougheachchapterissmallandintroductory,thishandbook itself is self-suf?cient and provides a comprehensive look at the principles of immunohistochemistry. For readers wanting further depth of knowledge, each chapterisbackedupbyashortlistofcarefullyselectedoriginalarticles. Duringthelastdecade,pioneeringeffortsofhistochemistshaveledtoan- menseimprovementinthereagentsandprotocols. Theresearcherisurgedalwaysto determinethereasonforeverymethodandstepbeforedoingit. Thishandbookis intendedtohelpreaderstoavoidtroublesinthechoiceofanadequatemethod,which happenswhenusingstandardtextbooks. Forthishandbook,wecarefullyselected establishedmethodsandeasy-to-adoptprotocols,payingattentiontomoderndev- opmentsinimmunohistochemistry,suchasantigenretrieval,signalampli?cation, the use of epitope tags in immunohistochemistry, multiple immunolabeling or diagnosticimmunohistochemistry. Eachofthemethodsdescribedinthishandbook v vi Preface was provedby the authors; many of these methods are routinely used in daily practiceintheirinstitute. Allthepracticalmethodsadvocatedareclearlydescribed, withaccompanyingtables,andtheresultsobtainableareillustratedwithcolour micrographs. Acknowledgements We thank Vera Samoilova forthe perfect technical assistance and other colleaguesfromtheMu nsterUniversityClinicforsharingprobesandreagents. IgorB. BuchwalowandWernerBo cker Mu nster Contents 1 AntibodiesforImmunohistochemistry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1. 1 StructureofAntibodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1. 2 PolyclonalAntibodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1. 3 MouseMonoclonalAntibodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1. 4 RabbitMonoclonalAntibodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 1. 5 ProteinAandProteinGinImmunohistochemistry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 2 AntibodyLabelingandtheChoiceoftheLabel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 2. 1 CovalentLabelingofAntibodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 2. 2 Non-CovalentLabelingofPrimaryAntibodieswith LabeledFabFragments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 2. 3 EnzymeLabelsforLightMicroscopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 2. 4 FluorophoreLabelsforFluorescenceMicroscopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 2. 5 ColloidalGoldLabelsforElectronMicroscopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .