Tissue sections, apoptosis analysis

Immunohistochemistry, on the other hand, enables identification of activated caspases or their cleaved products in fixed archival tissue sections. This technique allows identification of cell(s) undergoing caspase activation, as well as analysis of the distribution of cell(s) in the tissue. Specific antibodies to various caspases are now commercially available, the most frequently studied being caspase-3. Studies in various human tissues and cells have shown that immunohistochemical detection of activated caspase-3 is a useful tool for identifying apoptotic cells in archival material, even before all of the morphological features of apoptosis occur [84-86]. Several target proteins cleaved by caspases can also be detected by immunohistochemistry for example PARP [87], actin [88, 89], and lamin B [90]. 

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