Propidium iodide as a nuclear counterstain for immunofluorescence studies on cells in culture.

We describe a rapid procedure using propidium iodide (PI) as a nuclear counterstain in immunofluorescence studies where cell surface or intracellular antigens are localized with fluorescein-conjugated antisera. In fixed monolayer preparations, all cell nuclei fluoresce red and can be seen simultaneously with cellular antigens that fluoresce green. Counterstaining with PI therefore makes possible quantification of the proportion of cells present in culture that stain immunocytochemically for a specific antigen.