title: In situ hybridization.
abstract: In situ hybridization (ISH) is employed principally to detect mRNA within cells and tissues. ISH begins with the synthesis of a nucleic acid probe complementary in sequence to a cellular target. Through incorporation of a radioactive nucleotide into the probe, a cellular target may be visualized using autoradiography. A nonradioactive variation of this technique utilizing digoxigenin has been championed by some researchers, but our experience has been that radioactive probes produce more reliable and accurate results. Although not a difficult technique, ISH incorporates many steps, which must be performed with care and precision to obtain useful results.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX.
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Runge
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Runge