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- Table of Contents
Use heart cardiomyocytes as a positive reference and adipocytes as a negative reference for BCL2L13 chromogenic IHC (HPA tissue IHC). This guide covers FFPE handling and cytoplasmic staining, with cautious interpretation because tissue staining reliability is uncertain (HPA tissue IHC).
Expected localisation, validated protocols, controls and antibodies — the at-a-glance facts below, then the full design guide.
| Expected localisation | Cytoplasmic staining (HPA tissue IHC); mitochondrial membrane and nucleus annotated (UniProt) | |
| Staining pattern | Selective cytoplasmic staining in exocrine pancreas, hepatocytes and muscle (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Antigen retrieval | Tris-EDTA pH 9.0 HIER, 95–98 °C, 20 min (rule: nuclear antigen) | |
| Positive control | Bone marrow+4 more · see all | |
| Negative control | Adipose tissue+4 more · see all |
| Fixation | Matched tissue-IHC evidence does not establish the fixation claim. Validate the specimen-specific method before use. (selected-SKU IHC image A06151) | |
| Caveat | Tissue staining has uncertain reliability and medium RNA concordance (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Regulation | Highest expression in heart, placenta and pancreas (UniProt) | |
| Isoform / epitope | 3 isoforms; one intact chain; epitope position and membrane sidedness unreported (UniProt) |
The catalog antibody’s IHC-P protocol (datasheet) is presented alongside one published BCL2L13 IHC method using paraffin-embedded renal tissue (PMC8247248).
| Sample | Tissue sections; selected-image fixative not specified (standard IHC workflow) |
| Fixation | Image fixative and duration unreported (datasheet A06151); verify before use. |
| Sectioning | 4–5 µm sections on charged slides (standard) |
| Deparaffinisation | Xylene, graded ethanol series to water (standard) |
| Antigen retrieval | Heat-induced epitope retrieval in Tris-EDTA buffer, pH 9.0, 20 min at 95–98 °C (standard rule: nuclear antigen) |
| 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-BCL2L13, 10 μg/mL (datasheet A06151) |
| 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 | BCL2L13-positive staining in hematopoietic cells of bone marrow (HPA tissue IHC: Medium). HPA tissue profile: Selective cytoplasmic expression in salivary glands, exocrine pancreas, hepatocytes, muscle tissues and a subsets of lymphoid tissues. No signal in the no-primary control. |
BCL2L13 is annotated at the mitochondrial membrane and nucleus, with a transmembrane segment at residues 460–480 (UniProt Q9BXK5 topology). In paraffin IHC, expect cytoplasmic staining in selected cells, including cardiomyocytes and skeletal myocytes (HPA: tissue IHC, Medium). Interpret that pattern cautiously: HPA rates the tissue staining reliability Uncertain because antibody staining and RNA expression show medium consistency (HPA: tissue IHC reliability).
| Cytoplasmic staining in cardiomyocytes or skeletal myocytes, with neighboring structures remaining distinguishable. | This fits the reported Medium staining in those cells (HPA: tissue IHC). Score intensity in the named cell population, not across the entire section (general IHC practice). Chromogenic IHC alone does not establish that each deposit sits on a mitochondrion; mitochondrial localization has separate ICC-IF support (HPA: subcellular ICC-IF). |
| Strong, widespread nuclear staining with little cytoplasmic signal. | This departs from HPA’s selective cytoplasmic IHC profile (HPA: tissue IHC). UniProt also annotates the nucleus, so nuclear signal alone cannot be declared impossible (UniProt Q9BXK5: subcellular location). Review morphology and controls before assigning it to BCL2L13; the supplied IHC evidence does not establish a nuclear tissue pattern (HPA: tissue IHC). |
| Prominent staining in adipocytes where the intended positive cells are absent or faint. | HPA reports adipocytes as Not detected, making this a discordant cell-type pattern (HPA: adipose tissue IHC). Check antibody specificity and endogenous detection activity as possible explanations (general IHC practice). A positive chromogen deposit in an unexpected cell is not, by itself, evidence of BCL2L13 expression (general IHC practice). |
| Diffuse color across cells, stroma, and empty areas, obscuring cell boundaries. | This cannot be scored reliably as selective cytoplasmic staining (HPA: tissue IHC profile; general IHC practice). Uneven washing, excess antibody or detection background can produce diffuse signal (general IHC practice). Compare the background with the no-primary control before interpreting faint cellular color (general IHC practice). |
| No visible signal in a section containing identifiable cardiomyocytes or skeletal myocytes. | Both cell types have reported Medium staining, so their absence of signal warrants a run-level check (HPA: heart muscle and skeletal muscle IHC). HPA rates its tissue IHC evidence Uncertain; one negative run cannot settle biological absence (HPA: tissue IHC reliability). Confirm that the cells and controls are present before changing the interpretation (general IHC practice). |
| Tissue and cell selection | HPA reports Medium staining in cardiomyocytes, skeletal myocytes, smooth muscle cells, and several other listed populations, while adipocytes are Not detected (HPA: tissue IHC). Choose a control by its identified cell type; a mixed-tissue average can hide the expected selective pattern (general IHC practice). |
| Strength of IHC evidence | The overall tissue IHC reliability is Uncertain, with medium consistency between antibody staining and RNA expression (HPA: tissue IHC reliability). Both listed antibodies with IHC status are Uncertain; ICC approval does not upgrade their IHC status (HPA: antibody validation). Treat a new tissue pattern as provisional until controls support it (general IHC practice). |
| Topology and epitope interpretation | UniProt annotates a mitochondrial membrane protein with one transmembrane segment at residues 460–480 (UniProt Q9BXK5 topology). The supplied record gives no antibody epitope location, so topology cannot predict which retrieval condition will expose the epitope in paraffin sections (UniProt Q9BXK5 topology; general IHC practice). |
| Isoforms and processing | UniProt lists 3 isoforms and one annotated chain spanning residues 1–485, with no signal peptide or propeptide (UniProt Q9BXK5: isoforms and processing). Without an antibody epitope map, these entries cannot establish which isoforms contribute to IHC staining or imply a cleavage-specific staining pattern (UniProt Q9BXK5; general IHC practice). |
| IF/ICC: What pattern is expected? | Look for mitochondrial localization in cultured cells; HPA describes mitochondria as the enhanced main location and lists A-431, HaCaT, MCF-7, and U2OS ICC-IF images (HPA: subcellular ICC-IF). The listed ICC-IF antibodies are Approved, a separate validation designation from tissue IHC reliability (HPA: antibody validation). |
| Situation | Likely cause | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| Cytoplasmic staining is weak or absent in a chosen positive section. | The chosen field may contain few of the cell types with reported staining, or the IHC run may have low sensitivity (HPA: tissue IHC; general IHC practice). | Find intact cardiomyocytes or skeletal myocytes first; then check the run control, antibody dilution, retrieval settings, and detection steps according to the validated IHC procedure (HPA: tissue IHC; general IHC practice). |
| Color appears broadly in adipocytes or another population reported as Not detected. | The pattern conflicts with HPA’s cell-level observation; nonspecific binding or endogenous detection activity are possible (HPA: adipose tissue IHC; general IHC practice). | Compare a no-primary control and an expected positive cell population on the same run; address blocking or detection background before reporting new expression (general IHC practice; HPA: tissue IHC). |
| Most of the section has diffuse chromogen with poor cellular detail. | Background from concentrated reagents, insufficient washing, or detection chemistry can mask a selective pattern (general IHC practice; HPA: tissue IHC profile). | Inspect the no-primary control, washing, and reagent dilution; score only deposits that resolve to identifiable cells after background is controlled (general IHC practice). |
| Nuclei dominate the stain while expected cytoplasm is faint. | HPA describes selective cytoplasmic tissue IHC, although UniProt also lists the nucleus; the supplied evidence cannot resolve the discrepancy alone (HPA: tissue IHC; UniProt Q9BXK5: subcellular location). | Review the positive-tissue control and no-primary control, then record nuclear and cytoplasmic staining separately rather than calling the nuclear result confirmed (general IHC practice; HPA: tissue IHC). |
| Two antibodies give different tissue patterns. | The listed IHC results are Uncertain, so disagreement needs investigation at the cell level (HPA: antibody validation and tissue IHC reliability). | Compare the same tissue and cell types under each antibody’s validated IHC conditions; document concordant and discordant compartments without treating ICC approval as IHC confirmation (HPA: antibody validation; general IHC practice). |
| The IHC image looks diffuse, but ICC-IF shows discrete mitochondrial signal. | HPA reports cytoplasmic tissue IHC and mitochondrial ICC-IF localization; the two preparations and detection readouts resolve localization differently (HPA: tissue IHC and subcellular ICC-IF; general IHC practice). | Judge paraffin IHC against its selective cell-level cytoplasmic pattern and IF/ICC against mitochondrial localization; keep the modality and its validation status attached to each conclusion (HPA: tissue IHC, subcellular ICC-IF, and antibody validation). |
Comprehensive Human Protein Atlas IHC scoring per tissue (reliability: Uncertain — Medium consistency between antibody staining and RNA expression data.). Rows are taken directly from the HPA tissue chart — click any row's HPA link to view the source.
| Tissue | Cell type | Level | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bone marrow | Hematopoietic cells | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Breast | Myoepithelial cells | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Cerebral cortex | Glial cells | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Heart muscle | Cardiomyocytes | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Lymph node | Non-germinal center cells | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Tissue | Cell type | Level | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adipose tissue | Adipocytes | Not detected | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Adrenal gland | Glandular cells | Not detected | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Bronchus | Respiratory epithelial cells | Not detected | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Caudate | Glial cells | Not detected | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Cerebellum | Cells in granular layer | Not detected | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
Troubleshoot BCL2L13 staining by checking retrieval, compartment pattern and cell level controls before comparing chromogenic signal across paraffin sections.
The IHC-validated antibody has a human heart tissue image, and its IF image shows human heart cells (catalog: A06151 image captions). Human, mouse and rat reactivity is listed (catalog: A06151).
A06151 is the only SKU with a rendered card; its IHC image shows human heart tissue at 10 μg/mL (catalog: A06151 IHC image caption). Its IF image shows human heart cells at 20 μg/mL (catalog: A06151 IF image caption).
Which to pick: For tissue IHC, choose A06151: IHC-P is listed and its image shows human heart tissue; the image caption does not report the fixative (catalog: A06151 applications and IHC image caption). For IF/ICC, choose A06151 because IF is listed and imaged in human heart cells; IF is not listed for A06151-1 (catalog: A06151 and A06151-1 applications; A06151 IF image caption). Both SKUs list human, mouse and rat reactivity, but only A06151 has an IHC image in the payload; A06151-1 is described as polyclonal, while A06151 has no reported clone or clonality (catalog: reactivity, image captions, dilution_raw and clone fields).