Antigen retrieval: Difference between revisions

Enzyme digestion, also referred to as protease-induced epitope retrieval by some authors, is an old technique used in immunohistochemistry for formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissue sections before the advent of AR.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Huang |first=S. N. |last2=Minassian |first2=H. |last3=More |first3=J. D. |date=October 1976 |title=Application of immunofluorescent staining on paraffin sections improved by trypsin digestion |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/62099/ |journal=Laboratory Investigation; a Journal of Technical Methods and Pathology |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=383–390 |issn=0023-6837 |pmid=62099}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Battifora |first=H. |last2=Kopinski |first2=M. |date=August 1986 |title=The influence of protease digestion and duration of fixation on the immunostaining of keratins. A comparison of formalin and ethanol fixation |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2426335/ |journal=The Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry: Official Journal of the Histochemistry Society |volume=34 |issue=8 |pages=1095–1100 |doi=10.1177/34.8.2426335 |issn=0022-1554 |pmid=2426335}}</ref> In enzyme digestion, enzymes such as proteinase K, trypsin, and pepsin are used to restore antibody binding to its epitope. The purported mechanism of action is the cleavage of peptides that mask the epitope, thereby restoring antigenicity.