Immunohistochemistry is used to detect what?

• A. Anything an antibody can be made for
• B. Fungi with silver stain
• C. Myelin with Luxol fast blue
• D. Neutral fats with Oil Red O

Answer: (A)

Immunohistochemistry relies on antibodies binding to specific antigens in tissue sections, and the signal you see comes from that targeted binding. Because you can generate antibodies against essentially any antigen, this method can detect any target for which a specific antibody exists—typically proteins, their epitopes, or other molecular markers within the tissue. The visualization is achieved by linking the antibody to an enzyme or fluorophore, so the binding site lights up under the microscope, showing exactly where the target sits in the tissue.

Other stains shown are different approaches: the silver stain for fungi, Luxol fast blue for myelin, and Oil Red O for lipids are histochemical stains that don't rely on antibodies. They dye or highlight particular chemical components or structures directly, rather than using antibody-based binding to detect a specific antigen.