Immunoradioautographic study of alpha-fetoprotein in hepatoma cells.

Trypsin treatment, which is frequently used in the field of immunocytochemistry to faciliate conjugated antibody penetration through the cell membrane, was applied for the immunoradiographic demonstration of alpha-fetoprotein in ascites hepatoma cells using 125I-labeled anti rat alpha-fetoprotein antibody. No significant number of silver grains were detectable in the group without trypsin treatment, while numerous silver grains were recognizable in the ascites hepatoma cells after trypsin treatment. This indicates that trypsin treatment is effective for the immunoradiographic demonstration of alpha-fetoprotein and contributes to the quantitative immunoradioautographic investigation.