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CD207 / C-type lectin domain family 4 member K · IHC design guide
Design Immunohistochemistry for CD207
Plan CD207 chromogenic IHC on paraffin sections using skin Langerhans cells as the positive reference (HPA tissue IHC). Assess staining in those cells while treating membrane and Birbeck-granule localisation as a molecular expectation (HPA tissue IHC; UniProt).
Evidence assembled Oct 2026 · For research use; verify linked source records and product datasheet before use
CD207 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 | Membrane and Birbeck granules (molecular expectation) (UniProt) | |
| Staining pattern | Selective Langerhans-cell staining; compartment unspecified (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Antigen retrieval | Citrate pH 6.0 HIER, 95–98 °C, 20 min (rule: cytoplasmic / membrane antigen) | |
| Positive control | Skin+2 more · see all | |
| Negative control | Adipose tissue+4 more · see all |
Important caveats
Reasons your staining may differ from the expected pattern.
| Fixation | Keep fixation consistent across paraffin sections. (standard IHC practice; not target-specific) | |
| Caveat | Selective cell staining may be missed in whole-section scoring (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Regulation | Regulation not reported (UniProt) | |
| Isoform / epitope | No isoforms; cytoplasmic versus extracellular epitope matters (UniProt) |
Section 1
Recommended CD207 IHC & IF Protocols
The catalog antibody protocol is followed by published CD207 IHC methods for tonsil sections and an automated staining platform (PMC4879127; PMC8138496).
| Sample | Paraffin-embedded human skin tissue; fixative not specified (datasheet M02316-2) |
| Fixation | Image fixative and duration unreported (datasheet M02316-2); 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 citrate buffer, pH 6.0, 20 min at 95–98 °C (standard rule: cytoplasmic / membrane 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 monoclonal (clone 18C01) anti-CD207, 1:50-1:200 (datasheet M02316-2) |
| 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 | CD207-positive staining in fibrohistiocytic cells of skin (HPA tissue IHC: High). HPA tissue profile: Selective expression in Langerhans cells. No signal in the no-primary control. |
💡Decision noteStart with citrate pH 6.0 at 95–98 °C for 20 min (page retrieval rule). If needed, compare the published EDTA pH 9 and Retrieval Solution 1 conditions (PMC4879127; PMC8138496).
Section 2
What Is the Expected CD207 Staining Pattern?
CD207 (langerin) is a membrane protein with a cytoplasmic segment at residues 1–43, a transmembrane segment at 44–64, and an extracellular region at 65–328; it is also found in Birbeck granules (UniProt Q9UJ71 topology and subcellular location). Expect selective staining of Langerhans cells, especially in skin (UniProt Q9UJ71 tissue specificity; HPA: selective Langerhans-cell expression; skin RNA tissue enriched). HPA rates the tissue IHC pattern Enhanced, citing agreement between staining and RNA expression (HPA: reliability Enhanced).
| Discrete positive cells in skin, with membrane-associated and possibly granular intracellular staining. | This fits CD207 in Langerhans cells and its membrane and Birbeck-granule locations (UniProt Q9UJ71 tissue specificity and subcellular location). HPA reports high staining in skin cells annotated as fibrohistiocytic; identify the stained cells by morphology and tissue context rather than treating that broad annotation as proof of lineage (HPA: skin, fibrohistiocytic cells, High). |
| Predominantly nuclear staining, without a convincing positive-cell pattern. | Nuclear localization is unsupported by the supplied CD207 record (UniProt Q9UJ71: membrane and Birbeck granules). Treat it as suspect and compare the positive control and negative control before assigning a CD207 result; the controls help distinguish detection artefact from a reproducible tissue pattern (general IHC practice). |
| Broad staining of cell populations outside the expected selective distribution. | This conflicts with selective Langerhans-cell expression and the limited positive-cell pattern in the supplied tissue survey (UniProt Q9UJ71 tissue specificity; HPA: selective expression). Check for antibody cross-reactivity or endogenous detection activity with an appropriate negative control; appearance alone cannot distinguish those causes (general IHC practice). |
| Diffuse chromogen across tissue and background, obscuring individual positive cells. | The result cannot be scored confidently against HPA’s selective pattern (HPA: tissue IHC profile). Review blocking, washes, primary-antibody concentration, and detection background using control sections; these are general IHC checks, not documented CD207-specific sensitivities (general IHC practice). |
| No convincing staining in a skin section selected as a positive control. | An absent signal conflicts with HPA’s high skin staining, but does not by itself establish loss of CD207 in the specimen (HPA: skin, High). First confirm that the section contains suitable cells, then check the assay controls and detection steps before interpreting the negative result (general IHC practice). |
💡Expected CD207 appearanceCall a result positive when discrete cells of the expected Langerhans-cell population show convincing membrane-associated or granular intracellular staining, with high staining reported in skin; widespread epithelial or nuclear colour is suspect (UniProt Q9UJ71 tissue specificity and subcellular location; HPA: skin, High; general IHC interpretation).
| Cell and tissue distribution | HPA reports high staining in skin fibrohistiocytic cells, medium staining in lymph-node and tonsil non-germinal-center cells, and low staining in splenic red-pulp cells (HPA: tissue IHC). These labels describe observed staining; use morphology and tissue context when interpreting them alongside UniProt’s Langerhans-cell specificity (UniProt Q9UJ71 tissue specificity). |
| Protein topology and compartment | CD207 spans the membrane at residues 44–64 and has an extracellular region at 65–328 (UniProt Q9UJ71 topology). Its presence in Birbeck granules supports an intracellular granular component, but a routine chromogenic section cannot establish that a visible granule is a Birbeck granule (UniProt Q9UJ71 subcellular location; general IHC interpretation). |
| Antibody validation | Two listed antibodies, HPA011216 and CAB002222, carry Enhanced IHC status (HPA: antibody validation). This supports the reported tissue pattern; it does not establish the specificity of every antibody or detection system used in a new experiment (HPA: antibody validation; general IHC interpretation). |
| IF/ICC: How should a cytosolic signal be interpreted? | HPA lists cytosol as an uncertain ICC-IF location, whereas UniProt places CD207 at membranes and in Birbeck granules (HPA: subcellular, Cytosol uncertain; UniProt Q9UJ71 subcellular location). Treat a diffuse cytosolic image as provisional and assess cell identity and controls; the ICC-IF annotation alone does not redefine the expected tissue IHC pattern (general IHC interpretation). |
| Retrieval and fixation evidence | No CD207-specific fixation sensitivity or retrieval condition is established by the supplied HPA and UniProt records (HPA: tissue IHC profile; UniProt Q9UJ71). When optimizing a paraffin-section assay, assess retrieval with controls as a general IHC workflow decision, without assigning a target-specific effect to fixation (general IHC practice). |
| Situation | Likely cause | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| Skin positive control is blank. | The section may lack suitable positive cells, or an assay step may have failed; HPA reports high skin staining but does not establish the cause of a blank slide (HPA: skin, High; general IHC practice). | Inspect tissue morphology and control sections; verify primary-antibody, detection, and chromogen steps before scoring the sample as negative (general IHC practice). |
| Signal is nuclear or uniformly fills most cells. | The distribution does not match the supplied membrane/Birbeck-granule location or selective cell pattern (UniProt Q9UJ71; HPA: selective expression). Background or cross-reactivity is possible, but the image alone cannot identify its source (general IHC interpretation). | Compare with a known-positive section and a suitable negative control, then review blocking, antibody concentration, and detection background (general IHC practice). |
| Adipocytes or respiratory epithelial cells stain strongly. | HPA reports no detection in adipose-tissue adipocytes or bronchial respiratory epithelium (HPA: adipose tissue and bronchus, Not detected). Strong signal there is discordant with those reference observations; cross-reactivity or detection background should be considered (general IHC interpretation). | Check cell identification and repeat with controls that separate primary-antibody staining from detection-system background (general IHC practice). |
| Lymph-node or tonsil signal seems weaker than skin. | That difference is consistent with HPA’s medium staining in non-germinal-center cells of lymph node and tonsil versus high staining in skin fibrohistiocytic cells (HPA: lymph node and tonsil, Medium; skin, High). | Score discrete cells within each tissue’s expected context; do not use skin intensity alone as the cutoff for every tissue (HPA: tissue IHC levels; general IHC interpretation). |
| Granular intracellular colour is difficult to separate from precipitate. | CD207 occurs in Birbeck granules, yet chromogenic granularity by itself cannot identify those organelles (UniProt Q9UJ71 subcellular location; general IHC interpretation). | Look for staining in the expected cells and compare with negative controls and adjacent tissue; score ambiguous deposits as unresolved until the pattern is reproducible (UniProt Q9UJ71 tissue specificity; general IHC practice). |
| Background obscures sparse positive cells. | Diffuse background can conceal the selective CD207 pattern reported in tissue IHC (HPA: selective expression; general IHC interpretation). The supplied sources do not identify a CD207-specific fixation cause. | Review blocking, washes, antibody concentration, and chromogen development with control sections, then reassess whether individual positive cells can be distinguished (general IHC practice). |
Experiment evidence
IHC & IF images showing CD207 staining
M02316-2 · IHCImmunohistochemical analysis of paraffin-embedded human skin, using Langerin (CD207) Antibody.
HPA · Cerebral cortexHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Cerebral cortex. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000116031-CD207/tissue/cerebral+cortex#imid_3117800
HPA · ColonHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Colon. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000116031-CD207/tissue/colon#imid_3117718
HPA · LiverHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Liver. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000116031-CD207/tissue/liver#imid_3117735
HPA · KidneyHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Kidney. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000116031-CD207/tissue/kidney#imid_3117736
HPA · ICC-IF HAP1Human Protein Atlas immunofluorescence, HAP1, antibody HPA011216; green = CD207, blue = nucleus, red = microtubules.
HPA · ICC-IF HAP1Human Protein Atlas immunofluorescence, HAP1, antibody HPA011216; green = CD207, blue = nucleus, red = microtubules.
← swipe / scroll for more images →
Real IHC / IF data behind the staining-pattern expectations in this section.
Sample controls for CD207 IHC & IF
🧪Run skin first and look for staining in fibrohistiocytic cells (HPA: High in skin fibrohistiocytic cells). Run adipose tissue as the negative and assess its adipocytes (HPA: Not detected in adipose adipocytes); other cells on the skin slide should show low background outside the stained population (standard IHC practice).
Positive control tissue: Skin (Fibrohistiocytic cells, HPA High)
Negative control tissue: Adipose tissue (HPA Not detected)
ICC-IF cell lines (HPA subcellular resource): HPA ICC-IF images show CD207 in HAP1, SH-SY5Y, U2OS, with annotated localisation: Cytosol (uncertain) (HPA subcellular).
Technical controls: Include a no-primary, secondary-only control and an isotype control matched to the primary antibody’s host species and clonality; use a CD207 knockout specimen as a biological negative if available (standard IHC practice). In skin, block endogenous peroxidase for chromogenic detection and distinguish pigment from chromogen; account for autofluorescence if using IF (standard IHC/IF practice).
⚠️Feasibility: The selected-SKU caption shows CD207 staining in a paraffin-embedded skin section, but its fixative is unreported (M02316-2 tissue-IHC caption). A target-specific fixation window, fixation effect, and antigen-retrieval dependency are unreported in the supplied evidence; determine retrieval conditions empirically (supplied target/application evidence; standard IHC practice). The evidence does not establish whether frozen sections or IF are easier; skin pigment can complicate chromogenic scoring, and skin autofluorescence can complicate IF scoring (supplied target/application evidence; standard IHC/IF practice).
HPA tissue IHC evidence for CD207
Comprehensive Human Protein Atlas IHC scoring per tissue (reliability: Enhanced — High 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.
Positive expression · recommended positive controls
| Tissue | Cell type | Level | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skin | Fibrohistiocytic cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Lymph node | Non-germinal center cells | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Tonsil | Non-germinal center cells | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
Undetected expression · recommended negative controls
| Tissue | Cell type | Level | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adipose tissue | Adipocytes | Not detected | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Adrenal gland | Glandular cells | Not detected | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Appendix | Glandular cells | Not detected | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Bone marrow | Hematopoietic cells | Not detected | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Breast | Adipocytes | Not detected | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
Section 3
Advanced CD207 IHC Tips
Troubleshoot CD207 chromogenic IHC in paraffin sections by checking retrieval, cell identity, and staining compartment together.
How should I adjust retrieval when CD207 staining is weak?
Start with citrate buffer at pH 6.0 for heat induced epitope retrieval at 95–98 °C for 20 min (page retrieval setting). If signal remains weak, check section adhesion, heating uniformity, and antibody incubation before testing a different retrieval buffer on matched sections (standard IHC practice). Compare the alternatives with a human skin control, where the selected antibody has a paraffin section image and HPA reports high staining in fibrohistiocytic cells (catalog antibody M02316-2 caption; HPA: Skin, High). Score gains in the expected cells alongside damage, detached sections, or diffuse staining, and retain the condition that best preserves interpretable morphology (standard IHC practice; HPA: selective expression in Langerhans cells).
Could fixation explain absent CD207 staining in paraffin sections?
Target specific fixation sensitivity is unknown because the selected paraffin skin caption does not report a fixative or fixation duration (catalog antibody M02316-2 caption). Record the actual fixative and time for each specimen, then compare similarly processed sections with the same citrate pH 6.0, 95–98 °C, 20 min retrieval (page retrieval setting; standard IHC practice). Include a concurrently processed skin control, since the catalog image shows staining in paraffin embedded human skin (catalog antibody M02316-2 caption). If the control stains but a test section does not, review specimen handling and expected cell content before attributing the result to fixation (standard IHC practice; HPA: selective expression in Langerhans cells).
Where should CD207 staining appear within positive cells?
Expect staining associated with membrane compartments: CD207 has a transmembrane segment at residues 44–64 and occurs in Birbeck granules (UniProt Q9UJ71 topology and subcellular location). A chromogenic section may show membrane associated or granular cytoplasmic signal, but light microscopy alone cannot identify individual Birbeck granules (UniProt Q9UJ71 subcellular location; standard IHC interpretation). HPA also reports an uncertain cytosolic location from subcellular imaging, so diffuse cytoplasmic staining warrants review rather than automatic rejection (HPA: Cytosol, uncertain). Compare cellular staining with morphology and a skin control; a uniform nuclear pattern or staining spread across unrelated cells is less consistent with the annotated topology and selective expression (UniProt Q9UJ71 topology; HPA: selective expression in Langerhans cells).
Could epitope position change the CD207 staining pattern?
Check the antibody's documented immunogen or epitope before interpreting a negative section; the supplied catalog caption does not identify either (catalog antibody M02316-2 caption). CD207 has a cytoplasmic region at residues 1–43, a transmembrane segment at 44–64, and an extracellular region at 65–328 (UniProt Q9UJ71 topology). The extracellular region includes glycosylation sites at 87, 113, and 180, but their effect on this antibody's IHC staining is unreported (UniProt Q9UJ71 glycosylation; catalog antibody M02316-2 caption). The supplied record lists 0 isoforms; investigate retrieval, processing, and cell content before proposing an isoform explanation for discordant staining (UniProt Q9UJ71 isoforms; standard IHC practice).
How can IF help check an ambiguous CD207 IHC pattern?
On a separate IF section, multiplex CD207 with a validated Langerhans cell marker and examine whether signals occur in the same cells, since CD207 expression is described as selective in that cell population (HPA: selective expression in Langerhans cells). Choose a fluorophore channel after inspecting unstained tissue autofluorescence, and include single stain controls to assess bleed through (standard IF practice). Match permeabilisation to the documented antibody epitope: an intracellular epitope requires access across the membrane, whereas access to an extracellular epitope may require less permeabilisation (UniProt Q9UJ71 topology; standard IF practice). The supplied IHC caption gives no IF fixation or epitope validation, so optimise those IF conditions independently and use the result to investigate the chromogenic cell pattern (catalog antibody M02316-2 caption).
How do I distinguish CD207 signal from chromogenic background?
Inspect a no primary control alongside the CD207 stained section to identify detection system staining and endogenous pigment (standard IHC practice). For peroxidase detection, block endogenous peroxidase before applying the detection reagent and assess whether deposits persist in the control (standard chromogenic IHC practice). Titrate the antibody and detection exposure on matched sections while preserving signal in the expected population; the supplied caption provides no dilution for this experiment (catalog antibody M02316-2 caption; HPA: selective expression in Langerhans cells). Broad staining of unrelated cells is suspect when compared with the reported selective Langerhans cell profile and the catalog antibody's paraffin skin image (HPA: selective expression in Langerhans cells; catalog antibody M02316-2 caption).
What should I count when comparing CD207 IHC across sections? ⚠ ANSWER MARKED FOR VERIFICATION
Define the tissue region and eligible cell population before scoring, then report CD207 positive cells as a percentage of those cells or as density per mm² of evaluable tissue (standard IHC quantification practice). If intensity matters, record an H-score from intensity categories 0–3 weighted by the percentage of cells in each category (standard IHC quantification practice). Keep retrieval, detection exposure, counterstain, and positivity threshold consistent across sections, with a skin control on each run (page retrieval setting; catalog antibody M02316-2 caption; standard IHC practice). Normalise counts to eligible cells or evaluable area, and exclude folds, necrosis, and section edges by a prespecified rule (standard IHC quantification practice).
When is a CD207 positive cell convincing rather than artefactual?
A convincing result combines cellular staining with appropriate morphology and distribution, using the reported selective Langerhans cell profile and paraffin skin image as references (HPA: selective expression in Langerhans cells; catalog antibody M02316-2 caption). Membrane associated or granular cytoplasmic signal is compatible with CD207 topology and Birbeck granule localisation, while an isolated uniform nuclear pattern is difficult to reconcile with those annotations (UniProt Q9UJ71 topology and subcellular location). Review apparent positives limited to section edges, necrotic areas, or the no primary control for processing artefact or endogenous enzyme activity (standard chromogenic IHC practice). HPA labels its cytosolic localisation uncertain, so resolve ambiguous cytoplasmic staining through cell identity and controls rather than compartment alone (HPA: Cytosol, uncertain; standard IHC interpretation).
Boster reagents
Best CD207 / C-type lectin domain family 4 member K IHC Antibodies
The catalog lists one human-reactive anti-CD207 antibody for IHC, with an image of paraffin-embedded human skin (M02316-2 catalog; M02316-2 image caption).
Real IHC data
Anti-Langerin (CD207) Rabbit Monoclonal Antibody
Cat # M02316-2
M02316-2 is the sole card and lists human IHC as its application and reactivity (M02316-2 catalog). Its IHC image shows paraffin-embedded human skin (M02316-2 image caption).
Which to pick: For tissue IHC, choose M02316-2, a rabbit monoclonal with human IHC listed (M02316-2 catalog) and a paraffin-embedded human skin image (M02316-2 image caption). The image caption does not report the fixative (M02316-2 image caption). No IF/ICC application or nonhuman reactivity is listed, so this catalog provides no supported IF/ICC or cross-species pick (M02316-2 catalog).
Each figure is that product's own IHC / IF validation image from its datasheet.
References
- UniProt Consortium. UniProt entry Q9UJ71 (CLC4K_HUMAN, C-type lectin domain family 4 member K).
- Human Protein Atlas. CD207 tissue IHC expression (reliability: Enhanced).
- Human Protein Atlas. CD207 subcellular location (ICC-IF): Localized to the cytosol..
- Human Protein Atlas. CD207 antibody validation summary (2 antibodies).
- Neurogenic factor-induced Langerhans cell activation in diabetic mice with mechanical allodynia. Journal of neuroinflammation 2013 — PMC3685572.
- BRAF V600E and Pten deletion in mice produces a histiocytic disorder with features of Langerhans cell histiocytosis. PloS one 2019 — PMC6748438.
- CD1c-Related DCs that Express CD207/Langerin, but Are Distinguishable from Langerhans Cells, Are Consistently Present in Human Tonsils. Frontiers in immunology 2016 — PMC4879127.
- Langerhans cell histiocytosis of an intra-mammary lymph node in an 18-year-old woman. Pathologica 2020 — PMC8138496.
- PubMed PMID:10661407 — UniProt-cited evidence.
- PubMed PMID:15815621 — UniProt-cited evidence.
- PubMed PMID:15489334 — UniProt-cited evidence.
Immunohistochemistry protocol sheet for CD207 (C-type lectin domain family 4 member K). Expected localisation Membrane and Birbeck granules (molecular expectation) (UniProt). Antigen retrieval: Citrate pH 6.0 HIER, 95–98 °C, 20 min (rule: cytoplasmic / membrane antigen). Validated IHC antibody: M02316-2 at 1:50-1:200 (the product's own IHC validation image is shown). Controls (HPA): positive Skin (Fibrohistiocytic cells); negative Adipose tissue. IHC workflow; specimen preparation unspecified. Protocol steps: 1. Sample: Paraffin-embedded human skin tissue; fixative not specified (datasheet M02316-2); 2. Fixation: Image fixative and duration unreported (datasheet M02316-2); 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-induced epitope retrieval in citrate buffer, pH 6.0 , 20 min at 95–98 °C…; 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 monoclonal (clone 18C01) anti-CD207, 1:50-1:200 (datasheet M02316-2); 9. Primary incubation: Overnight at 4 °C (standard). Watch for: Fixation: Keep fixation consistent across paraffin sections. (standard IHC practice; not target-specific); Caveat: Selective cell staining may be missed in whole-section scoring (HPA tissue IHC); Isoform / epitope: No isoforms; cytoplasmic versus extracellular epitope matters (UniProt); Regulation: Regulation not reported (UniProt). Evidence: UniProt Q9UJ71, HPA tissue IHC · Enhanced, HPA ICC-IF · cytosol., Datasheet M02316-2, PMC4879127, PMC8138496. QR code links to https://www.bosterbio.com/bosterbio-gene-info-cards/CD207/immunohistochemistry-ihc-guide.