Sequential use of the PAP and immunogold staining method for the light microscopical double staining of tissue antigens

Abstract

Double immunoperoxidase staining using different couplers can give various combinations of colours on a single tissue section to achieve a comparable picture of different antigens. However, the colour combinations achieved to date are not entirely satisfactory. A double immunostaining procedure is introduced here, combining the peroxidase anti-peroxidase (PAP) and immunogold staining (IGS) methods. The IGS method is a new, simple, sensitive and reliable approach to immunostaining at the light microscopic level. It was carried out in three ways. Firstly, a two-step method was used in which the second layer was goat anti-rabbit IgG absorbed onto gold particles (GAR/Au20). Secondly, a three-step method was employed where the second layer was unlabelled goat anti-rabbit IgG and the third layer was a rabbit antibody to peroxidase absorbed onto the gold particles (RAP/Au20) and acting as a gold-labelled IgG antigen. The third method combined the first two methods using GAR/Au20 as th second layer and RAP/Au20 as the third layer which increased the amount of bound gold and enhanced the red colour, providing a better picture. The use of gold-labelled antibodies in double immunostaining has great potential value for many studies including that of the diffuse neuroendocrine system of the gut.