Immunoelectron Microscopy: A Reliable Tool for the Analysis of Cellular Processes

DE PAUL ANA; MUKDSI JORGE; PETITI JUAN; GUTIERREZ SILVINA; QUINTAR AMADO; MALDONADO CRISTINA; TORRES ALICIA

Immunocytochemistry

InTech

Año: 2012;

Electron Microscopy is an indispensable tool to investigate the intricate structures of the celland organelles, and also to study the cellular biological processes implicated in theresponses to changes in the microenvironment. However, several cellular events may bemissed if conventional ultrastructural studies are not complemented with details concerningthe subcellular localization of a wide range of specific proteins which can becomerearranged as part of their own dynamic processes. Thus, immunoelectron microscopyemerges as a technique that links the information gap between biochemistry, molecularbiology, and ultrastructural studies, by placing macromolecular functions within a cellularcontext.The present chapter is intended to describe the main scope and protocols of theimmunogold methods which have been successfully utilized at our research center for theexamination and analysis of intracellular and cell surface proteins in mammalian cells.Furthermore, at the ultrastructural level, we demonstrate the role of immunogold labeling inthe study of biological processes induced by different stimuli from the environment.