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ARMCX1 / Armadillo repeat-containing X-linked protein 1 · IHC design guide
Design Immunohistochemistry for ARMCX1
Plan chromogenic ARMCX1 IHC in paraffin sections using cytoplasmic staining in adrenal glandular cells as a reference (HPA tissue IHC). The guide pairs that tissue pattern with the mitochondrial outer-membrane annotation (UniProt) and the catalog antibody’s 1:100–1:300 IHC dilution range (datasheet A09670).
Evidence assembled Oct 2026 · For research use; verify linked source records and product datasheet before use
ARMCX1 Immunohistochemistry Experimental Design Guide
Expected localisation, validated protocols, controls and antibodies — the at-a-glance facts below, then the full design guide.
Must know before staining
| Expected localisation | Cytoplasmic staining (HPA tissue IHC); mitochondrial outer membrane (UniProt) | |
| Staining pattern | Cytoplasmic in most cells, except lymphoid and CNS cells (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Antigen retrieval | Tris-EDTA pH 9.0 HIER, heat-mediated (datasheet A09670) | |
| Positive control | Adrenal gland+4 more · see all | |
| Negative control | Appendix+4 more · see all |
Important caveats
Reasons your staining may differ from the expected pattern.
| Fixation | Keep paraffin-section fixation consistent (standard IHC practice; not target-specific); Matched tissue-IHC evidence does not establish the fixation claim. Validate the specimen-specific method before use. (selected-SKU IHC image A09670) | |
| Caveat | Brain expression may not predict CNS tissue staining (UniProt; HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Regulation | Reduced in several carcinomas (UniProt) | |
| Isoform / epitope | No annotated isoforms or cleavage; residues 30–453 face cytoplasm (UniProt) |
Section 1
Recommended ARMCX1 IHC & IF Protocols
Compare the catalog antibody’s IHC-P protocol with published ARMCX1 IHC on retinal cross sections (PMC5189716), attempted retinal staining (PMC11364276), and NPC tissue microarrays (PMC12804310).
| Sample | Paraffin-embedded human Squamous cell carcinoma of lung tissue; fixative not specified (datasheet A09670) |
| Fixation | Image fixative and duration unreported (datasheet A09670); verify before use. |
| Sectioning | 4–5 µm sections on charged slides (standard) |
| Deparaffinisation | Xylene, graded ethanol series to water (standard) |
| Antigen retrieval | Heat retrieval: Tris-EDTA pH 9.0 (datasheet A09670); 20 min, 95–100 °C (standard) |
| Peroxidase block | 3% H2O2, 10 min, room temperature (standard) |
| Blocking | 10% normal serum of the secondary host, 30 min, room temperature (standard) |
| Primary antibody | Rabbit anti-ARMCX1, 1:100-1:300 (datasheet A09670) |
| Primary incubation | Overnight at 4 °C (standard) |
| Detection | HRP-polymer secondary, DAB chromogen 5–10 min (standard) |
| Counterstain | Hematoxylin, blue, dehydrate and mount (standard) |
| Expected result | ARMCX1-positive staining in glandular cells of adrenal gland (HPA tissue IHC: Medium). HPA tissue profile: Cytoplasmic expression in most cells except lymphoid cells and cells in CNS. No signal in the no-primary control. |
💡Decision noteFor paraffin sections, start with Tris-EDTA pH 9.0 heat retrieval (datasheet A09670). The cited excerpts do not specify retrieval conditions.
Section 2
What Is the Expected ARMCX1 Staining Pattern?
ARMCX1 should appear mainly in the cytoplasm of many non-lymphoid cells on tissue IHC (HPA: supported IHC; medium agreement with RNA; pending external verification). Its mitochondrial outer-membrane anchor and cytoplasm-facing region support a mitochondrial-associated pattern (UniProt Q9P291 topology). HPA reports medium staining in several epithelial and glandular cell populations and colon endothelial cells, while individual tissues and cell types vary (HPA tissue IHC).
| Cytoplasmic granular staining in breast or duodenal glandular cells, with little nuclear staining. | Consistent with ARMCX1 localization (UniProt Q9P291 topology) and medium staining in these cell populations (HPA tissue IHC). Chromogenic IHC alone cannot establish that each granule is mitochondrial. |
| Predominantly nuclear or sharply cell-surface staining, without the expected cytoplasmic pattern. | Reassess antibody specificity, detection, and slide quality before interpreting it as ARMCX1 (UniProt Q9P291 topology; HPA tissue IHC). HPA also reports additional nucleoplasmic localization by ICC-IF, so nuclear staining alone is not conclusive evidence of an artifact (HPA subcellular ICC-IF). |
| Strong staining of lymph-node germinal-center cells or bone-marrow hematopoietic cells. | These populations were not detected in HPA tissue IHC; cross-reactivity or endogenous chromogenic activity is possible, especially if controls show the same signal (HPA tissue IHC). Check the pattern against the positive control before scoring it. |
| Uniform color across cells, stroma, and blank areas, obscuring cell boundaries. | This favors nonspecific background over a cell-associated ARMCX1 pattern (HPA tissue IHC). Review blocking, wash steps, detection reagent, and a no-primary control using standard IHC practice. |
| No stain in breast glandular cells or bronchial respiratory epithelium. | Both are medium-staining HPA examples, so a blank result warrants a run-level check (HPA tissue IHC). Absence in one specimen is not definitive: HPA rates tissue IHC as supported, with medium RNA agreement and external verification pending. |
💡Expected ARMCX1 appearanceA credible positive is cell-associated, chiefly cytoplasmic staining at around the HPA-reported medium level in a listed positive population; widespread acellular color or isolated strong staining in listed negative lymphoid cells is suspect (HPA tissue IHC; UniProt Q9P291 topology).
| Outer-membrane topology (UniProt Q9P291 topology) | Residues 7–29 form the membrane segment; residues 30–453 face the cytoplasm (UniProt Q9P291 topology). The antibody epitope is unspecified, so topology does not establish an antigen-retrieval requirement. |
| Cell population and tissue context (HPA tissue IHC) | HPA reports medium staining in breast and duodenal glandular cells, but no detection in appendix glandular cells (HPA tissue IHC). Judge the named cell population, not merely the organ label. |
| Evidence strength (HPA tissue IHC; HPA antibodies) | The tissue profile is supported, with medium staining-to-RNA consistency and external verification pending (HPA tissue IHC). Two listed antibodies have supported IHC status; that status alone does not make every unexpected stain target-specific (HPA antibodies). |
| Protein annotations (UniProt Q9P291 record) | No glycosylation sites, modified residues, or alternative isoforms are annotated, and the chain spans residues 1–453 (UniProt Q9P291 record). These annotations do not justify predicting a processing-dependent IHC pattern. |
| IF localization evidence (HPA subcellular ICC-IF) | Mitochondria are the supported main ICC-IF location; nucleoplasm and cytosol are approved additional locations (HPA subcellular ICC-IF). This helps interpret compartment differences, but does not set a paraffin-IHC scoring threshold. |
| Situation | Likely cause | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| Expected positive cells are blank. | The run may have weak detection, or this specimen may differ from HPA's example; tissue IHC has medium RNA agreement (HPA tissue IHC). | Check a listed medium-staining positive population in the same run, then review the IHC-validated antibody, detection reagents, and routine antigen-retrieval controls. Do not infer ARMCX1-specific retrieval sensitivity from these sources. |
| Nuclear staining dominates the section. | UniProt places ARMCX1 at the mitochondrial outer membrane, while HPA approves nucleoplasm as an additional ICC-IF location (UniProt Q9P291; HPA subcellular ICC-IF). | Compare cytoplasmic staining in a listed positive population and inspect no-primary controls. Treat isolated nuclear IHC signal cautiously; the ICC-IF observation does not validate a nuclear-only chromogenic pattern. |
| Lymphoid or hematopoietic cells stain strongly. | HPA reports no detection in lymph-node germinal-center and bone-marrow hematopoietic cells; cross-reactivity or endogenous detection activity could contribute (HPA tissue IHC). | Inspect no-primary and detection-only controls, then compare the same run with a listed medium-positive cell population before assigning an ARMCX1 score. |
| Diffuse color obscures cell boundaries. | Nonspecific background or endogenous chromogenic activity may overwhelm the cytoplasmic pattern described by HPA (HPA tissue IHC). | Use standard IHC controls to check blocking, washes, and detection activity; score only discernible cell-associated staining in the relevant population. |
| Brain, ovary, prostate, or spleen appears inconsistent with a high-expression listing. | UniProt's tissue-expression summary and HPA's cell-resolved IHC can differ: HPA reports low staining in ovarian follicle and prostate glandular cells and no detection in splenic red-pulp cells (UniProt Q9P291 tissue specificity; HPA tissue IHC). | Record the sampled cell type and its HPA level. Avoid treating a whole-tissue expression statement as a predicted staining intensity for every cell. |
| What should an IF/ICC image show? | HPA supports mitochondria as the main ICC-IF location and approves additional nucleoplasm and cytosol localization (HPA subcellular ICC-IF). | Expect a mainly mitochondrial pattern, with the reported additional compartments possible (HPA subcellular ICC-IF); assess IF/ICC methods in its own guide rather than applying an IHC staining score. |
Experiment evidence
IHC & IF images showing ARMCX1 staining
A09670 · IHCImmunohistochemical analysis of paraffin-embedded human Squamous cell carcinoma of lung. 1, Antibody was diluted at 1:200 (4° overnight). 2,
HPA · Cerebral cortexHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Cerebral cortex. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000126947-ARMCX1/tissue/cerebral+cortex#imid_7623632
HPA · ColonHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Colon. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000126947-ARMCX1/tissue/colon#imid_7623550
HPA · LiverHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Liver. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000126947-ARMCX1/tissue/liver#imid_7623567
HPA · KidneyHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Kidney. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000126947-ARMCX1/tissue/kidney#imid_7623560
HPA · ICC-IF Rh30Human Protein Atlas immunofluorescence, Rh30, antibody HPA000268; green = ARMCX1, blue = nucleus, red = microtubules.
HPA · ICC-IF Rh30Human Protein Atlas immunofluorescence, Rh30, antibody HPA000268; green = ARMCX1, blue = nucleus, red = microtubules.
← swipe / scroll for more images →
Real IHC / IF data behind the staining-pattern expectations in this section.
Sample controls for ARMCX1 IHC & IF
🧪Run colon first: endothelial cells should stain at the HPA Medium level (HPA: colon endothelial cells, Medium). Use appendix glandular cells as the negative tissue (HPA: appendix glandular cells, Not detected); internal background cells on the colon slide should retain counterstain without specific chromogen, but no other colon cell type is established as ARMCX1-negative by the supplied rows.
Positive control tissue: Adrenal gland (Glandular cells, HPA Medium)
Negative control tissue: Appendix (HPA Not detected)
ICC-IF cell lines (HPA subcellular resource): HPA ICC-IF images show ARMCX1 in Rh30, SK-MEL-30, U2OS, with annotated localisation: Mitochondria (supported) (HPA subcellular).
Technical controls: Include a no-primary (secondary-only) control, an isotype control matched to the primary antibody’s host species and clonality, and ARMCX1 knockout tissue or a validated peptide-block control (standard IHC practice). Block endogenous peroxidase and check for signal from erythrocytes in colon vessels (standard IHC practice).
⚠️Feasibility: A target-specific fixation window or fixation effect is unreported, and the selected A09670 paraffin-section caption does not report a fixative (A09670 caption: fixative unreported). Start with Tris-EDTA, pH 9.0 retrieval and 1:200 primary antibody overnight at 4°C, then optimize staining and background (A09670 caption). The supplied evidence does not establish that frozen sections are easier; IF/ICC can assess mitochondrial colocalization (HPA: supported mitochondrial localization), while erythrocytes in colon vessels may cause peroxidase-related chromogen background (standard IHC practice).
HPA tissue IHC evidence for ARMCX1
Comprehensive Human Protein Atlas IHC scoring per tissue (reliability: Supported — Medium consistency between antibody staining and RNA expression data. Pending external verification.). Rows are taken directly from the HPA tissue chart — click any row's HPA link to view the source.
Positive expression · recommended positive controls
| Tissue | Cell type | Level | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adrenal gland | Glandular cells | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Breast | Glandular cells | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Bronchus | Respiratory epithelial cells | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Cervix | Squamous epithelial cells | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Colon | Endothelial cells | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
Undetected expression · recommended negative controls
| Tissue | Cell type | Level | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appendix | Glandular cells | Not detected | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Bone marrow | Hematopoietic cells | Not detected | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Cerebellum | Cells in granular layer | Not detected | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Hippocampus | Glial cells | Not detected | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Liver | Cholangiocytes | Not detected | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
Section 3
Advanced ARMCX1 IHC Tips
Use the catalog antibody’s paraffin section protocol as the IHC starting point, then judge staining against ARMCX1’s expected compartment and cell distribution.
Which retrieval should I use if ARMCX1 staining is weak in paraffin sections?
Start with heat-mediated Tris-EDTA retrieval at pH 9.0 (datasheet A09670). The selected paraffin section image used that buffer, with primary antibody at 1:200 overnight at 4°C (caption A09670). If staining is weak, verify heating and cooling consistency across the rack before changing the antibody concentration; inconsistent heat exposure can change epitope accessibility (standard IHC practice). Compare any revised retrieval condition with the same positive control and a no-primary control, because stronger chromogen alone cannot distinguish recovered ARMCX1 signal from increased background (standard IHC practice).
Could fixation explain weak or uneven ARMCX1 staining?
Target-specific fixation sensitivity is unknown: the selected paraffin section caption does not state a fixative (caption A09670). Record the actual fixative, fixation duration, processing history and section age for each specimen before comparing staining intensity, because those variables can affect antigen preservation and accessibility (standard IHC practice). Keep retrieval at Tris-EDTA pH 9.0 and the primary incubation at 1:200, 4°C overnight while assessing a fixation-related discrepancy (caption A09670). If specimens remain discordant, compare matched control tissue processed alongside them; do not infer an ARMCX1-specific fixation effect from tissue staining patterns or protein topology (standard IHC practice).
What staining pattern is plausible for ARMCX1 in chromogenic IHC?
Expect predominantly cytoplasmic staining at light-microscope resolution, while allowing a granular or punctate component consistent with mitochondrial association (HPA tissue IHC profile; HPA subcellular: mitochondria supported). ARMCX1 is assigned to the mitochondrial outer membrane, with residues 7–29 spanning the membrane and residues 30–453 facing the cytoplasm (UniProt Q9P291 topology). Diffuse cytoplasmic chromogen alone is therefore less specific than a pattern that also matches the expected cells and controls (standard IHC interpretation; HPA tissue IHC profile). Treat strong isolated nuclear staining cautiously: nucleoplasm is an additional reported location, but mitochondria are the supported main location (HPA subcellular).
How should epitope placement affect retrieval and interpretation?
Check the catalog antibody’s stated immunogen or epitope against the ARMCX1 sequence before interpreting an unexpected compartment; the supplied caption does not identify that epitope (caption A09670). The protein has one annotated membrane span at residues 7–29, a short intermembrane segment at 1–6, and a cytoplasm-facing region at 30–453 (UniProt Q9P291 topology). No isoforms, glycosylation sites or modified residues are annotated in the supplied record; those annotations do not establish which residues this antibody recognizes (UniProt Q9P291 record). Maintain the documented Tris-EDTA pH 9.0 retrieval while testing a suspected epitope-accessibility problem with controlled processing comparisons (datasheet A09670; standard IHC practice).
How can I investigate ARMCX1 localisation by multiplex IF?
For a separate IF experiment, pair ARMCX1 with a mitochondrial marker and a marker identifying the expected cell population, so colocalisation and cell identity can be assessed independently (HPA subcellular: mitochondria supported; standard IF practice). Choose spectrally separated fluorophores after checking tissue autofluorescence in unstained controls, especially when a broad background signal could mimic puncta (standard IF practice). Select and titrate permeabilisation with the antibody’s mapped epitope in mind: residues 30–453 face the cytoplasm, whereas residues 1–6 face the mitochondrial intermembrane space (UniProt Q9P291 topology). Establish IF fixation, permeabilisation and antibody dilution independently; the supplied 1:200 incubation describes paraffin section IHC (caption A09670).
What should I change when the whole section develops brown background?
First inspect a no-primary control for secondary reagent deposition and endogenous enzyme signal, and inspect a no-chromogen control when pigment could be mistaken for DAB (standard chromogenic IHC practice). Apply a peroxidase block before DAB detection, then optimise protein blocking, washes and secondary exposure if diffuse staining persists (standard chromogenic IHC practice). The selected image used primary antibody at 1:200 overnight at 4°C and secondary antibody at 1:200 for 45 minutes at room temperature (caption A09670). Compare background in low or undetected cell populations with signal in expected cells before calling a uniform brown haze ARMCX1 expression (HPA tissue IHC profile; standard IHC interpretation).
How should I score ARMCX1 IHC across heterogeneous sections? ⚠ ANSWER MARKED FOR VERIFICATION
Define the cell population and scoring compartment before review, then record both the percentage of positive cells and intensity for an H-score (standard IHC scoring practice). For spatial comparisons, report positive-cell density per mm² of viable analysed tissue and keep section area, counterstain threshold and image settings consistent (standard IHC quantification practice). Normalise within the same identified cell type and tissue region rather than pooling all cells, because the HPA profile describes cytoplasmic staining in most cells with exceptions among lymphoid and CNS cells (HPA tissue IHC profile). Exclude folds, edges and necrotic regions from the denominator, and compare controls processed in the same run (standard IHC quantification practice).
How do I distinguish genuine ARMCX1 staining from artefact?
Seek reproducible cytoplasmic staining in the expected cells, preferably with a granular component compatible with mitochondrial localisation (HPA tissue IHC profile; HPA subcellular: mitochondria supported). Question an exclusively nuclear or uniformly extracellular deposit, staining restricted to tissue edges or necrosis, or signal reproduced without primary antibody (HPA subcellular; standard IHC interpretation). Check endogenous peroxidase and tissue pigment controls before attributing brown deposits to ARMCX1 (standard chromogenic IHC practice). Interpret negative cells in context: HPA reports undetected germinal-centre cells in lymph node and hematopoietic cells in bone marrow, while its tissue antibody reliability is Supported with medium RNA–staining consistency pending external verification (HPA tissue IHC).
Boster reagents
Best ARMCX1 / Armadillo repeat-containing X-linked protein 1 IHC Antibodies
A09670 lists human, mouse and rat reactivity (catalog: reactivity). Its real IHC figure shows paraffin-embedded human lung squamous cell carcinoma (A09670 IHC caption); IF is listed without a supplied figure (catalog: applications, IF image alts).
Real IHC data
Anti-ARMCX1 Antibody
Cat # A09670
A09670 is listed for IHC and IF, with human, mouse and rat reactivity (catalog: applications, reactivity). Its supplied IHC figure shows paraffin-embedded human squamous cell carcinoma of lung using a 1:200 primary dilution and Tris-EDTA retrieval at pH 9.0 (A09670 IHC caption).
Which to pick: For tissue IHC, choose A09670: its own caption documents paraffin sections, a 1:200 primary dilution overnight at 4 °C, and Tris-EDTA retrieval at pH 9.0; the fixative is unreported (A09670 IHC caption). For IF/ICC, A09670 lists IF at 1:200–1:1000, but has no supplied IF figure or explicit ICC validation (catalog: applications, IF dilution, IF image alts). For mouse or rat work, A09670 is a rabbit polyclonal with listed reactivity in both species, while its pictured IHC evidence is from human tissue (catalog: host, dilution_raw, reactivity; A09670 IHC caption).
Each figure is that product's own IHC / IF validation image from its datasheet.
References
- UniProt Consortium. UniProt entry Q9P291 (ARMX1_HUMAN, Armadillo repeat-containing X-linked protein 1).
- Human Protein Atlas. ARMCX1 tissue IHC expression (reliability: Supported).
- Human Protein Atlas. ARMCX1 subcellular location (ICC-IF): Mainly localized to the mitochondria. In addition localized to the nucleoplasm and cytosol..
- Human Protein Atlas. ARMCX1 antibody validation summary (3 antibodies).
- The Mammalian-Specific Protein Armcx1 Regulates Mitochondrial Transport during Axon Regeneration. Neuron 2016 — PMC5189716.
- The Expression of ARMCX1 in Gastric Cancer Contributes to Prognosis and Influences Chemotherapy. Journal of immunology research 2023 — PMC9886469.
- Generation of an Armcx1 Conditional Knockout Mouse. Genesis (New York, N.Y. : 2000) 2024 — PMC11364276.
- Upregulated ARMCX1 suppresses nasopharyngeal carcinoma progression by promoting TRIM21-mediated β-catenin degradation. Cellular oncology (Dordrecht, Netherlands) 2026 — PMC12804310.
- PubMed PMID:11162520 — UniProt-cited evidence.
- PubMed PMID:14702039 — UniProt-cited evidence.
- PubMed PMID:15772651 — UniProt-cited evidence.
Immunohistochemistry protocol sheet for ARMCX1 (Armadillo repeat-containing X-linked protein 1). Expected localisation Cytoplasmic staining (HPA tissue IHC); mitochondrial outer membrane (UniProt). Antigen retrieval: Tris-EDTA pH 9.0 HIER, heat-mediated (datasheet A09670). Validated IHC antibody: A09670 at 1:100-1:300 (the product's own IHC validation image is shown). Controls (HPA): positive Adrenal gland (Glandular cells); negative Appendix. IHC workflow; specimen preparation unspecified. Protocol steps: 1. Sample: Paraffin-embedded human Squamous cell carcinoma of lung tissue; fixative not specified (datasheet A09670); 2. Fixation: Image fixative and duration unreported (datasheet A09670); verify before use.; 3. Sectioning: 4–5 µm sections on charged slides (standard); 4. Deparaffinisation: Xylene, graded ethanol series to water (standard); 5. Antigen retrieval: Heat retrieval: Tris-EDTA pH 9.0 (datasheet A09670); 20 min, 95–100 °C (standard); 6. Peroxidase block: 3% H2O2, 10 min , room temperature (standard); 7. Blocking: 10% normal serum of the secondary host, 30 min , room temperature (standard); 8. Primary antibody: Rabbit anti-ARMCX1, 1:100-1:300 (datasheet A09670); 9. Primary incubation: Overnight at 4 °C (standard). Watch for: Fixation: Keep paraffin-section fixation consistent (standard IHC practice; not target-specific); Matched tissue-IHC evidence does not establish the fixation claim. Validate the specimen-specific method before use. (selected-SKU IHC image A09670); Caveat: Brain expression may not predict CNS tissue staining (UniProt; HPA tissue IHC); Isoform / epitope: No annotated isoforms or cleavage; residues 30–453 face cytoplasm (UniProt); Regulation: Reduced in several carcinomas (UniProt). Evidence: UniProt Q9P291, HPA tissue IHC · Supported, HPA ICC-IF · Mainly localized to the mitochondria. In addition localized to the…, Datasheet A09670, PMC5189716, PMC11364276. QR code links to https://www.bosterbio.com/bosterbio-gene-info-cards/ARMCX1/immunohistochemistry-ihc-guide.