RNA in situ hybridization (ISH) technology: One slide all the answers

Traditional ISH techniques rely on directly labeled nucleic acid probes and, consequently, may suffer from suboptimal sensitivity and specificity (limited ability to detect low-expression transcripts and relatively high levels of nonspecific staining). Advanced Cell Diagnostics (ACD, a Bio-Techne brand) RNA ISH – RNAscopeTM – overcomes sensitivity issues by amplifying mRNA transcripts ~100-fold relative to traditional ISH technology. At the same time, it largely eliminates background noise by means of a paired probe approach.

To learn more about this highly specific and sensitive system and its expanding diagnostic applications, we spoke to Dr. Rob Monroe, pathologist and Chief Medical Officer of Bio-Techne.