Applications of immunohistochemistry to ophthalmic pathology

Immunohistological techniques have been increasingly used, both in general and ophthalmic pathology, for identification of specific cell types that may not be possible on morphological grounds or by conventional histochemical methods alone. Enzyme conjugate techniques using the peroxidase-antiperoxidase (PAP) immune complex method and the avidin-biotin-horseradish peroxidase method (ABC) are particularly useful as they are highly sensitive, provide permanent results, allow the use of paraffin-embedded tissues and do not require a fluorescent microscope. Antibodies against glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), factor VIII-related antigen, muramidase, S-100 protein, myoglobin, prostatic acid phosphatase and prostate-specific antigen are valuable tools in surgical pathology and their applicability to ophthalmic pathology have been clearly demonstrated.