Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a technique of histology aimed at locating a target protein in a tissue. There is also a derived technique, immunocytochemistry (ICC) which has the same principle but aims to localize a target protein in isolated cells.
The principle of immunohistochemistry relies on the recognition of an antigen by a specific antibody and the development of this antigen-antibody complex by a chemical reaction by means of an enzyme and its substrate. In general, the enzyme is HRP (Horse Radish Peroxidase) or AP (Phosphatase Alkaline) and their substrates AEC and DAB for HRP or NBT / BCIP and Permanent Red for alkaline phosphatase.
It is possible to locate a single protein (single staining) or several proteins on the same tissue section (multiple staining).