Terminology question - immunoreact, immunohybridize, immunostain... (Nov/13/2006 )
I've had this discussion with my supervisor numerous times and we can never agree on the correct terminology. When you are using an antibody to detect something on a western blot, or on tissue sections, or in cells, etc. what is the correct terminology?
I use the word immunohybridize but my supervisor always says that antibodies don't hybridize. He prefers immunoreact but I tell him that antibodies don't react, at least not in the chemistry sense. We both don't agree on immunostain because the antibodies aren't staining the cells as say, H&E does. Is there some better word? Or do people use these words because there is no better terminology?
I suppose there is also immunodetect but it doesn't really work in a sentence such as, "Tissue sections were immunodetected with an antibody to X in order to visualize localization of protein X". Or at least it sounds weird to me.
it depends on the definition of each term...
we use immunodetection..
I use the word immunohybridize but my supervisor always says that antibodies don't hybridize. He prefers immunoreact but I tell him that antibodies don't react, at least not in the chemistry sense. We both don't agree on immunostain because the antibodies aren't staining the cells as say, H&E does. Is there some better word? Or do people use these words because there is no better terminology?
I suppose there is also immunodetect but it doesn't really work in a sentence such as, "Tissue sections were immunodetected with an antibody to X in order to visualize localization of protein X". Or at least it sounds weird to me.
However, according to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia "Immunostaining is a general term in biochemistry that applies to any use of an antibody-based method to detect a specific protein in a sample. The term immunostaining was originally used to refer to the immunohistochemical staining of tissue sections, as first described by Albert Coons in 1941.[1] Now however, immunostaining encompasses a broad range of techniques used in histology, cell biology, and molecular biology that utilise antibody-based staining methods." It is used quite intensively in the literature. What about immunolabelling, don't you like it. I definitely agree with your superviser, hybridization means a different kind of binding the target. Immunodetection sounds right too.
We use immunodetection and sounds proper terminology, doesn't it?
I would prefer "tissue sections were immunolabeled" than immunodetected.
the tissue is labeled, the antigen is detected. But truely, I don't claim I'm right.