Ultrastructural visualization of virus-induced surface antigens. Comparative studies of three immunohistochemical techniques.

Three immunohistochemical techniques used for ultrastructural localization of cell surface antigens were compared with respect to ease of reagent preparation and qualitative aspects of cell surface staining. The techniques compared were: (a) ferritin-conjugated antibody, (b) "hybrid" antibody and (c) a modification of the "bridging" technique which employs soluble immune complexes. Used in conjuction with strain MC29 avian oncornavirus-infected chick embryo cells and chicken antiviral immune serum, the results of all three techniques were comparable. In terms of ease of preparation, the "bridging" technique employing soluble complexes was found to be the most satisfactory.