Immunohistochemistry and RNA In Situ Hybridization in Mouse Brain Development

During development, the mouse brain is progressively divided into functionally distinct compartments. Numerous neuronal and glial cell types are subsequently generated in response to various inductive signals. Each cell expresses a unique combination of genes encoding proteins from transcription factors to neurotransmitters that define its role in brain function. To understand these important and highly sophisticated processes, it is critical to accurately locate the various proteins and cells that produce them. In this chapter, we introduce the techniques of immunohistochemistry, which detects the localization of specific proteins, and RNA in situ hybridization, which enables the visualization of specific mRNAs.