Application of ELISA for assessment of antiserum immunoreactivity in endocrine immunocytochemical studies.

An indirect method of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is described to assess the reactivity of antisera used for the identification of peptide hormone producing cells by immunocytochemistry. Compared with radioimmunoassay and immunodiffusion, the ELISA method has the advantages of simplicity and sensitivity and represents with the hormone adsorbed to a matrix a situation more or less comparable to that in tissue sections. It is concluded that specificity testing of antisera applied in endocrine immunocytochemical studies can best be achieved by application of the ELISA method in combination with appropriate tissue controls.