Basic Science Editor Dr. Sloka Iyengar discusses a study that used immunohistochemistry.
Immunohistochemistry is a procedure where antibodies are used to visualize antigens (or proteins) in a tissue section like a brain slice. It can be very useful in everything from epilepsy research to detecting abnormal cancerous tissue. As a basic epilepsy researcher, I have used immunohistochemistry in the following way:
The picture taken under a microscope shows glial cells that have GFAP protein (brown) in the hippocampus. (MOL, GCL, and H stand for molecular layer, granule cell layer, and the hilus, respectively, which are different parts of the hippocampus).
Image adapted from Leinco technologies
In this way, immunohistochemistry is a very important technique in epilepsy and basic science research. I hope this article gives some understanding of how this technique is used in a laboratory setting.