Application of immunohistochemistry in diagnostics and research of infectious diseases

Imunohistokemijske metode omogućavaju vizualizaciju raznih antigena u tkivu koristeći se njima specifičnim protutijelima. Premda se počela razvijati prije više od 80 godina, imunohistokemija je i danas često korištena u mnoge svrhe: ključna je za dijagnostiku i praćenje određenih tumora te istraživanje neurodegenerativnih bolesti koje su sve češći problem današnjice, a osim toga značajna je i u dijagnostici i istraživanju raznih infektivnih bolesti. Imunohistokemijske metode pružaju jedinstven uvid u distribuciju antigena u tkivu, što pomaže u istraživanju patogeneze raznih bolesti koje izazivaju mikroorganizmi. Postupci imunohistokemijskog bojenja sastoje se od više koraka koji imaju značajan utjecaj na krajnji rezultat te je upravo ovo jedan od razloga zašto su brze i jednostavne molekularne i serološke metode preuzele prednost u dijagnostici zaraznih bolesti. Međutim, na brojnim primjerima dokazano je da je imunohistokemija, bez obzira na nedostatke, snažan i vrijedan alat u istraživanjima bolesti, osobito u kombinaciji s drugim metodama, poput in situ hibridizacije.Immunohistochemistry enables visualisation of various antigens in tissues with the help of specific antibodies. Although immunohistochemistry has been around for 80 years, it is still often used for many purposes: it is key in diagnosis and surveillance of certain tumors, as well as research of neurodegenerative diseases which have become an increasingly common problem, but are also important in diagnosis and research of different infectious diseases. Immunohistochemistry provides a unique insight in distribution of antigens in tissues, which is of great assistance in research of pathogenesis of different diseases caused by microorganisms. The process of immunohistochemical staining consists of several steps that have a significant impact on the end result, which is one of the reasons why fast and simple molecular and serological methods have an advantage in diagnosis of infectious diseases. However, even with its flaws, many examples of application of immunohistochemistry prove that, it is a very powerful and valuable tool in research, especially when combined with other methods, like in situ hybridisation