Bcl-2 Oncoprotein Antibody Staining Protocol for Immunohistochemistry

Description: In 90% of follicular lymphomas a translocation occurs with juxtaposes the bcl-2 gene at 18q21, to an immunoglobulin gene, with subsequent deregulation of protein synthesis and cell proliferation. The bcl-2 product is considered to act as an inhibitor of apoptosis. For this reason, bcl-2 expression is inhibited in germinal center where apoptosis forms part of the B cell production pathway. This observation has tumed out to have clinical implications. Distribution of follicular hyperplasia form follicular lymphoma is a common problem in histopathology. Reactive follicles show no staining for bcl-2, whereas the cells in neoplastic follicules exhibit membrane and/or cytoplasmic staining.