In Situ Hybridization of Cytokine mRNA Using Alkaline Phosphatase-Labelled Oligodeoxynucleotide Probes

In situ hybridization is a powerful tool for visualizing cellular gene expression in morphologically preserved brain tissue giving precise information on the regional expression of specific mRNA sequences in cells of diverse phenotype. Here, we describe a sensitive, simple, and robust method using alkaline phosphatase (AP)-labelled oligodeoxynucleotide probes to detect cytokine mRNA in the acutely injured or inflamed mouse CNS.