In situ hybridization: perspectives of its clinical application in hepatitis B and delta virus infections.

In situ hybridization is a sensitive and specific technique for detecting nucleic acids in cytological and histological specimens. Visualization of the target sequences by autoradiography or (immuno)histochemistry allows their precise subcellular localization and quantitation. The application of in situ hybridization techniques has contributed to the understanding of the complex replicative cycle of hepatitis B virus. More recently, hepatitis delta virus replication has also been studied by this technique. Although in situ hybridization is a powerful tool for the molecular biologist, its clinical significance in diagnosis and prognosis of human hepatitis virus infections has yet to be fully evaluated.