A Simple Method for the Immunocytochemical Detection of Proteins Inside Nuclear Structures That Are Inaccessible to Specific Antibodies

It has been demonstrated elsewhere that a high concentration of an antigen within the nucleolus may prevent its proper recognition by specific antibodies. In this study, the authors found that a short proteinase treatment allowed for the detection of antigens in the nucleoli. The described approach is compatible with the simultaneous observation of proteins fused to fluorescent tags and with preembedding electron microscopy. It appears that the described method can be useful in situations when the proper recognition of antigens by specific antibodies is disturbed by a high density of cellular structures or a high concentration of antigens inside these structures. (J Histochem Cytochem 60:152-158, 2012)