Using Phospho-Peptides Immobilized on Magnetic Beads for Absorption Control in Immunohistochemistry.

Phospho-specific primary antibodies are used in immunohistochemistry (IHC) to detect phosphorylated sequences in proteins, in some cases they may also cross-react with non- or de-phosphorylated sequences. To rule out nonspecific staining, and to determine that the staining pattern is specific it is necessary to employ a so-called absorption control: phospho-specific primary antibodies are first incubated with phospho-peptide immunogen to block antibody binding sites, and this mixture is applied to tissue sections. If the antibody pre-blocked with cognate immunogen does not produce tissue staining, then the antibody is considered specific.

High-Sensitivity IHC Detection of Phosphorylated p27/Kip1 in Human Tissues Using Secondary Antibody Conjugated to Polymer-HRP.

A complex composed of goat anti-rabbit secondary antibody conjugated to a polymer coated with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) molecules was used to develop rapid and highly sensitive immunostaining protocol for the detection of phosphorylated p27/Kip1 (T157) in human tissues. This polymer-HRP complex produced much better sensitivity detection compared to conventional biotin-streptavidin-HRP chemistry. Using polymer-HRP made it possible to reduce primary antibody concentration, eliminate some incubation steps such as avidin-biotin blocking and incubation with separate biotinylated secondary antibodies, and shorten the incubation time with primary antibody.

Absorption control in immunohistochemistry using phospho-peptides immobilized on magnetic beads.

Although phospho-specific primary antibodies used in immunohistochemistry (IHC) are expected to detect phosphorylated proteins, in some cases these antibodies may also cross-react with nonphosphorylated proteins. Therefore, it is of ultimate importance to employ a control to determine that the staining pattern is specific. One of the frequently used controls in IHC is a so-called absorption control: phospho-specific primary antibodies are first incubated with a phospho-peptide immunogen to block antibody-binding sites, and this mixture is subsequently applied to tissue sections.

Novel multicolor immunofluorescence technique using primary antibodies raised in the same host species.

Simultaneous detection of multiple tissue antigens is one of the most frequently used immunohistochemical (IHC) techniques. In order to avoid cross-reactivity of each secondary antibody with multiple primary antibodies when doing either dual- or triple-labeling immunofluorescence, it is necessary to use primary antibodies raised in different host species such as mouse, rabbit, and goat. However, in many cases, suitable primary antibodies raised in different species are unavailable.