Multiple Antigen Immunostaining Procedures

The immunohistological demonstration of more than one antigen in the same tissue section may be used for studying the topographic relationships of cell populations and for correlating cell phenotype with functional or prognostic markers or with microbial infection in situ (1 ). In addition, single- or double-label immunohistochemistry may also be combined with the detection of nucleic acid sequences by in situ hybridization for revealing messenger RNA and translated protein side by side. The combination of these techniques is primarily dependent on the compatibility of the antigen retrieval technique needed and the stability of the RNA and DNA sequences in question (2 ) (see Chapter 46).