[Recent progress in the use of the techniques in molecular histochemistry].

Recent developments in molecular biology have made it possible to detect molecules such as mRNA and DNA in situ. In this report we focused on non-radioactive in situ hybridization histochemistry using the alkaline phosphatase-labeled oligodeoxynucleotide probe, which has recently been developed. We report the advantages of this method and some applications such as semiquantitative analysis and simultaneous demonstration of two mRNAs in a single section. In addition, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) receptor mRNA was demonstrated in the lung as an application of in situ hybridization histochemistry in the field of thoracic diseases. We compared the localized of VIP mRNA-positive cells between normal animals and an animal mode of asthma.