Immunostaining

Immunostaining refers to the processes of localizing antigens in cells, thus exploiting the principle that antibodies bind specifically to antigens in biological tissues. There are two general methods of immunostaining: immunohistochemistry (IHC) and immunofluorescense. For human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), researchers use immunostaining to detect specific undifferentiation markers, to demonstrate pluripotency by embryoid body (EB) and by teratoma formation (immunostaining with three germ layer markers), and to detect specific differentiation processes.