Immunohistochemical Detection of Microglia Using Iba-1 as a Marker in Health and Disease

The presented findings suggest Iba-1 protein to be a reliable and universal microglial marker. The immunohistochemical detection of the protein enables to identify and analyze qualitatively and quantitatively microglial cells in different brain regions in human and laboratory animals under normal and pathological conditions. The limitations of using Iba-1 as a marker of microglia include the inability to determine the microglial activation vector and the difficulty in distinguishing between microglia and infiltrating macrophages of the brain in pathology. In such cases, it is necessary to improve the technology for detecting microglia that can be based on using a multi-marker analysis.