In Situ Hybridization Detection of TGF-β mRNA

Immunohistochemical techniques and molecular hybridization enable demonstration of specific proteins and DNA or RNA sequences, respectively. In situ hybridization is a variant of molecular hybridization that allows detection of specific DNA or RNA sequences in tissue sections or cell preparations, as well as in chromosome preparations and was first described by Pardue and Gall (1). Basically, a single-stranded probe of mRNA or DNA containing complementary sequences are hybridized to RNA or DNA in the sample. The probe is radioactively or nonisotopically labeled for localization and eventually quantification of the product.