Detecting mRNAin Tissue Sections with Digoxigenin-Labeled Probes

Nonradioactively labeled probes offer several advantages compared to radioactive ones, as they show long stability, high morphological resolution, and rapid developing time. There are different types of nonradioactive labeling methods available, although recently digoxigenin-labeled probes (1 ) have become the most widely used for investigation on animal tissue, as they offer the advantage of low background noise and increased sensitivity (2 ,3 ). Also, digoxigenin can be used to label either RNA, DNA, or oligonucleotide probes. There have been different opinions on the sensitivity of detection of digoxigenin probes, but recent publications have shown that the sensitivity of radiolabeled and nonradioactive probes is comparable (3 ).