Quantitative immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization with luminescence detection: a new potential diagnostic tool

The ultrasensitive localization and quantification of target molecules inside tissues and cells is fundamental both for the understanding of physiopathological events and for the early diagnosis of pathologies. Luminescence imaging techniques allow to perform multiplexed detection via the combination of different detection principles and/or labels, while chemiluminescence imaging of enzyme-labeled biospecific probes joins high sensitivity with easy and reliable evaluation of the amount of the probe, thus enabling for quantitative analysis of the target molecules. Here we report applications of luminescence immunohistochemistry (IHC) and in situ hybridization (ISH) procedures for the detection and quantification of target proteins and nucleic acids, including the quantitative detection of the Multidrug Resistance Protein 2 (MRP2) in liver biopsies, the evaluation of the progression risk of cervical intraepithelial neoplastic lesions by analysis of the p16INK4A neoplastic marker concentration profile, and the co-localization of mucosal human papillomaviruses (HPVs) and the HMB-45 melanoma antigen marker using a combined ISH/IHC method with fluorescence and chemiluminescence detection.