[Immunohistochemistry: theoretical potentials and practical application].

Immunhistochemical methods are increasingly used and their application in surgical pathology is obvious. Nine different immunohistochemical techniques are compared in this review article. The peroxidase anti-peroxidase method of Sternberger et al. (1970), the avidin biotin complex method of Hsu et al. (1981) and the labeled avidin biotin technique of Guesdon et al. (1979) are to be preferred. Two step methods using labeled antibodies such as alkaline phosphatase or peroxidase-labeled second antibodies are less sensitive. However, two-step methods using alkaline phosphatase-labeled antibodies offer the advantage of double staining procedures since alkaline phosphatase reacts with different azo dyes and results in a wide spectrum of colours in the final reaction product. At present, the major problems of immunohistochemistry in daily work are the selection of the fixative and of appropriate controls. Though both problems remain unresolved, immunohistochemical methods should be used for special problems in surgical pathology.