Immunohistochemistry in Historical Perspective: Knowing the Past to Understand the Present

Immunohistochemistry is an extraordinary and extensively used technique whereby antibodies are used to detect antigens in cells within a tissue section. It has numerous applications in medicine, particularly in cancer diagnosis. It was Albert Hewett Coons, Hugh J Creech, Norman Jones, and Ernst Berliner who conceptualized and first implemented the procedure of immunofluorescence in 1941. They used fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labelled antibodies to localize pneumococcal antigens in infected tissues. Since then, with improvement and development of protein conjugation, enzyme labels have been introduced, such as peroxidase and alkaline phosphatase. The history of immunohistochemistry (IHC) combines physiology, immunology, biochemistry, and the work of various Nobel Prize laureates. From von Behring who was awarded de first Nobel Prize in 1901 for his work on serum therapy to the 1984 Nobel Prize for the discovery of monoclonal antibodies by Milstein, Kohler, and Jerne, IHC is a story of cooperation and collaboration which led to the development of this magnificent technique that is used daily in anatomical pathology laboratories worldwide.