Foreword

An epidemiological study of schistosomiasis at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom (see Chapter 1) indicated a need for diagnostic tools that could be applied to large numbers of ancient Egyptian tissues. This chapter discusses the successful application of immunocytochemistry to both modern and ancient tissues. This was acheved in an initial investigation in which tissue samples from fifty Egyptian mummies were studied with a view to establishing protocols that are now being applied to a larger epidemiology research project.

Using an indirect fluorescence staining protocol with antisera directed against Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma haematobium antigens, positive staining to S. mansoni and S. haematobium antigens in modern tissues, a fifty-year-old tissue sample from an Egyptian cadaver, and ancient Egyptian tissues has been achieved. Immunocytochemistry has proven to be cost effective and easy to perform, and is now a preliminary to other tests.

Although the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and other tests such as histology, enzyme immunotransfer blots (EITB), and DNA analysis have also been explored to reinforce the initial immunostaining results, this chapter will focus on the use of immunocytochemistry to diagnose ancient disease. The definition of an immunoassay and the principles of immunocytochemistry are briefly outlined, followed by details of the development of immunocytochemistry as a diagnostic tool for schistosomiasis in ancient tissues. This chapter highlights how experimental principles have been adapted when working with ancient dehydrated samples.