A novel in situ hybridization signal amplification method based on the deposition of biotinylated tyramine.

For amplification of in situ hybridization (ISH) signals, we describe a method using catalyzed reporter deposition (CARD). This amplification method is based on the deposition of biotinylated tyramine (BT) at the location of the DNA probe. The BT precipitate can then visualized with fluorochrome- or enzyme-labeled avidin. Both for bright-field ISH (BRISH) and for fluorescence ISH (FISH), the detection limit was highly increased. This method is especially suitable for visualization of very weak ISH signals, such as those obtained by ISH using locus-specific DNA probes. Furthermore, CARD amplification of ISH signals (CARD-ISH) is highly sensitive, rapid, flexible, and easy to implement. Successful application of CARD-ISH with locus-specific DNA probes on histological and cytological samples may improve the determination of structural chromosomal aberrations in archival material.