Antigen retrieval immunohistochemistry antibodies

Shi SR, Imam SA, Young L, et al. Antigen retrieval immunohistochemistry under the influence of pH using monoclonal antibodies. J. Histochem. Cytochem. 1995 43 193-201. 

Ino H. Application of antigen retrieval by heating for double-label fluorescent immunohistochemistry with identical species-derived primary antibodies. J. Histochem. Cytochem. 2004 52 1219-1230. 

Boenisch T (1999) Diluent buffer ions and pH their influence on the performance of monoclonal antibodies in immunohistochemistry. Appl Immunohistochem Mol Morphol 7 300 306 Boenisch T (2005) Effect of heat induced antigen retrieval following inconsistent formalin fixation. Appl Immunohistochem Mol Morphol 13 283 286... 

Estrogen receptor comprises several structural domains with specific and overlapping functions. A number of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies are available, some of which show affinity for specific domains of the ER molecule. The antibodies discussed below are efficient tools for ER immunohistochemistry on sections of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues and facilitate the cellular site expression of ERa and ER 3 receptors in human and rat tissues. Most of these antibodies are used for labeling ERs in breast tissue in conjunction with pretreatment with antigen retrieval methods. 

Performing immunohistochemistry on these rehydrated paraffin sections frequently leads to poor results. In contrast, the same antibodies on paraformaldehyde-fixed and cryostat sections will give good results. The issue with formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue is that the exposure to formalin and dehydration alters the epitopes in the tissue. As a result, formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues need additional processing methods, known as epitope retrieval or antigen retrieval. Done before immunohistochemistry, epitope retrieval involves heating the sections in buffer with either an acid or base to allow the antibody to recognize the epitope. Also, the exact process of epitope retrieval can be different for individual antibodies. There are numerous papers and books on epitope retrieval and how to apply the method. 

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