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CDH13 / Cadherin-13 · IHC design guide
Design Immunohistochemistry for CDH13
Start CDH13 paraffin IHC with the catalog antibody at 1–2 μg/mL (datasheet A01986-1). Assess membranous and cytoplasmic staining in glomeruli, muscle and endothelium (HPA tissue IHC).
Evidence assembled Oct 2026 · For research use; verify linked source records and product datasheet before use
CDH13 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 | Membranous and cytoplasmic staining (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Staining pattern | Membrane/cytoplasm in muscle, glomeruli, cortex and endothelium (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Antigen retrieval | EDTA pH 8.0 HIER, heat-mediated (datasheet A01986-1) | |
| Positive control | Kidney+4 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 sections (standard IHC practice; not target-specific). Selected-image fixative and duration unreported (datasheet A01986-1); verify before use. | |
| Caveat | Appendicitis staining does not establish staining in appendix glands (HPA tissue IHC; datasheet A01986-1) | |
| Regulation | Blood-vessel-enhanced RNA (HPA tissue RNA) | |
| Isoform / epitope | 5 isoforms; mature chain spans residues 139–693, so check epitope placement (UniProt) |
Section 1
Recommended CDH13 IHC & IF Protocols
The catalog antibody’s IHC-P protocol (datasheet A01986-1) is accompanied by one published CDH13 IHC protocol (PMC13114730).
| Sample | Paraffin-embedded human appendicitis tissue; fixative not specified (datasheet A01986-1) |
| Fixation | Image fixative and duration unreported (datasheet A01986-1); verify before use. |
| Sectioning | 4–5 µm sections on charged slides (standard) |
| Deparaffinisation | Xylene, graded ethanol series to water (standard) |
| Antigen retrieval | Heat retrieval: EDTA pH 8.0 (datasheet A01986-1); 20 min, 95–100 °C (standard) |
| Peroxidase block | 3% H2O2, 10 min, room temperature (standard) |
| Blocking | 10% goat serum (datasheet A01986-1) |
| Primary antibody | Rabbit anti-CDH13, 1-2μg/ml (datasheet A01986-1) |
| Primary incubation | Overnight at 4 °C (datasheet A01986-1) |
| Detection | Streptavidin-biotin complex (SABC), DAB chromogen (datasheet A01986-1) |
| Counterstain | Hematoxylin, blue, dehydrate and mount (standard) |
| Expected result | CDH13-positive staining in cells in glomeruli of kidney (HPA tissue IHC: High). HPA tissue profile: Distinct membranous and cytoplasmic expression in muscle tissues, renal glomeruli, cerebral cortex, in endothelial cells and in basal cells of squamous epithelia. No signal in the no-primary control. |
💡Decision noteStart with heat-mediated EDTA retrieval at pH 8.0 for the catalog antibody (datasheet A01986-1); the published protocol used retrieval solution 1 for 40 min (PMC13114730).
Section 2
What Is the Expected CDH13 Staining Pattern?
CDH13 should show membranous and cytoplasmic staining in selected cells, including renal glomerular cells, myocytes, cardiomyocytes and basal cells of squamous epithelia (HPA: Enhanced tissue IHC; HPA: tissue profile). A membrane pattern fits its GPI-anchor annotation and lack of a transmembrane segment (UniProt P55290 topology and keywords). The cell type and compartment matter more than uniform staining across a section (HPA: tissue profile).
| Defined membrane-associated staining, with some cytoplasmic staining, in glomerular cells. | This matches the reported compartments and a High signal in kidney glomerular cells (HPA: tissue IHC). Score the glomerular cells, not the whole kidney section (HPA: tissue IHC). |
| Moderate staining in cardiomyocytes, skeletal myocytes, smooth muscle cells or skin basal cells. | These are reported Medium positive cell populations (HPA: tissue IHC). Heart expression is described as high by UniProt, while the HPA IHC level for cardiomyocytes is Medium; keep those measures distinct (UniProt P55290 tissue specificity; HPA: tissue IHC). |
| Predominantly nuclear staining without a convincing membrane or cytoplasmic pattern. | Treat this as a suspect compartment pattern and investigate artefact before calling it CDH13: the reported IHC pattern is membranous and cytoplasmic, and the supported ICC-IF location is plasma membrane (HPA: tissue IHC; HPA: subcellular). |
| Strong staining in adipocytes or adrenal glandular cells. | These populations are reported as Not detected (HPA: tissue IHC). Consider antibody cross-reactivity or endogenous detection activity, then compare a matched negative control (general IHC practice); staining alone does not distinguish those causes. |
| Diffuse color across tissue and background, or no signal in glomerular cells. | Diffuse color prevents a reliable compartment call (general IHC practice). Absent glomerular staining conflicts with the reported High level, but could reflect an assay failure; check controls before inferring biological absence (HPA: tissue IHC; general IHC practice). |
💡Expected CDH13 appearanceA positive IHC result has discernible membrane-associated, possibly cytoplasmic staining in reported positive cells, strongest among the listed examples in glomerular cells (High); isolated nuclear signal or similarly strong staining in reported negative adipocytes is suspect (HPA: tissue IHC).
| Compartment and anchor | Use the membrane-associated pattern as the main spatial check; cytoplasmic IHC staining is also reported (HPA: tissue IHC). CDH13 has no transmembrane segment and carries a GPI-anchor annotation (UniProt P55290 topology and keywords). |
| Cell-specific tissue pattern | A section can contain cells with different expected results: skin basal cells are Medium, whereas adipocytes are Not detected in the listed HPA samples (HPA: tissue IHC). Interpret staining by cell population. |
| Processing and isoforms | UniProt lists signal and propeptide processing, a mature chain at residues 139–693, and 5 isoforms (UniProt P55290 processing and isoforms). Without an antibody epitope, these facts cannot predict which forms the IHC reagent detects. |
| Antibody evidence | Both listed antibodies have Enhanced IHC validation, indicating agreement with independent antibody staining or orthogonal data (HPA: HPA001380 and CAB025863 IHC validation). That supports the reported pattern but does not validate every new specimen or run. |
| Situation | Likely cause | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| Glomerular cells have no detectable stain. | The assay may have failed, or this specimen may differ from the reported High kidney pattern (HPA: tissue IHC); the slide alone cannot separate these possibilities. | Review a known-positive control and the run's retrieval, primary-antibody and detection steps (general IHC practice). Avoid assigning a CDH13-negative result until the controls work. |
| Color is widespread and cell borders cannot be resolved. | Nonspecific primary-antibody binding or insufficient washing can obscure localisation (general IHC practice). | Compare the negative control, review blocking and wash conditions, and reassess antibody concentration against its validated instructions (general IHC practice). No target-specific dilution is supplied. |
| Adipocytes or adrenal glandular cells stain strongly. | Both are listed as Not detected in the specified cells (HPA: tissue IHC); cross-reactivity or endogenous detection activity is possible (general IHC practice). | Check a no-primary control and the detection system, then compare localisation with a reported positive cell population (general IHC practice; HPA: tissue IHC). |
| Signal is mainly nuclear. | That distribution does not match the reported membrane and cytoplasmic IHC profile (HPA: tissue IHC). Background or an antibody-dependent off-target signal needs investigation (general IHC practice). | Inspect controls and morphology, and confirm the compartment pattern with an independently validated IHC antibody if available (general IHC practice; HPA: antibody validation). |
| Cardiomyocyte staining appears weaker than expected from 'high heart expression.' | UniProt describes high heart expression, while HPA reports Medium IHC staining in cardiomyocytes (UniProt P55290 tissue specificity; HPA: tissue IHC). | Use the cell-level HPA IHC observation when judging this slide, alongside a positive control from the same run (HPA: tissue IHC; general IHC practice). |
| Q: How should an IF/ICC membrane signal be interpreted? | A: Plasma membrane is the supported ICC-IF location; images are listed for HaCaT and SiHa (HPA: subcellular). This is location evidence, not an IHC-P protocol. | Assess whether IF signal outlines the plasma membrane and consult the separate IF/ICC guide for workflow choices (HPA: subcellular; general IF practice). |
Experiment evidence
IHC & IF images showing CDH13 staining
A01986-1 · IHCIHC analysis of H Cadherin/CDH13 using anti-H Cadherin/CDH13 antibody (A01986-1). H Cadherin/CDH13 was detected in paraffin-embedded section
A01986-1 · IHCIHC analysis of H Cadherin/CDH13 using anti-H Cadherin/CDH13 antibody (A01986-1). H Cadherin/CDH13 was detected in paraffin-embedded section
A01986-1 · IFIF analysis of H Cadherin/CDH13 using anti-H Cadherin/CDH13 antibody (A01986-1). H Cadherin/CDH13 was detected in immunocytochemical section
M01986-1 · IHCImmunohistochemical analysis of paraffin-embedded Human cervical cancer, using the Antibody at 1:100 dilution.
M01986-1 · IHCImmunohistochemical analysis of paraffin-embedded Human squamous cell carcinoma , using the Antibody at 1:100 dilution.
A10606 · IHCImmunohistochemistry of T cadherin in mouse brain tissue with T cadherin Antibody at 5 μg/mL.
A10606 · IFImmunofluorescence of T-cadherin in K562 cells with T-cadherin antibody at 20 μg/mL.
HPA · Cerebral cortexHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Cerebral cortex. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000140945-CDH13/tissue/cerebral+cortex#imid_510470
HPA · ColonHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Colon. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000140945-CDH13/tissue/colon#imid_6487126
HPA · LiverHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Liver. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000140945-CDH13/tissue/liver#imid_510397
HPA · KidneyHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Kidney. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000140945-CDH13/tissue/kidney#imid_510398
HPA · ICC-IF HaCaTHuman Protein Atlas immunofluorescence, HaCaT, antibody HPA001380; green = CDH13, blue = nucleus, red = microtubules.
HPA · ICC-IF HaCaTHuman Protein Atlas immunofluorescence, HaCaT, antibody HPA001380; green = CDH13, blue = nucleus, red = microtubules.
← swipe / scroll for more images →
Real IHC / IF data behind the staining-pattern expectations in this section.
Sample controls for CDH13 IHC & IF
🧪Run kidney first: cells in glomeruli should stain (HPA: High in cells in glomeruli). Use adipose tissue adipocytes as the negative tissue (HPA: Not detected in adipocytes); on the kidney slide, unstained cells outside glomeruli can provide an internal background reference, but assess their signal rather than assuming they are CDH13-negative.
Positive control tissue: Kidney (Cells in glomeruli, HPA High)
Negative control tissue: Adipose tissue (HPA Not detected)
ICC-IF cell lines (HPA subcellular resource): HPA ICC-IF images show CDH13 in HaCaT, SiHa, with annotated localisation: Plasma membrane (supported) (HPA subcellular).
Technical controls: Include a no-primary (secondary-only) control, a concentration-matched rabbit IgG isotype control for the captioned rabbit primary (selected-SKU IHC caption), and a CDH13 knockout specimen or peptide-block control where available. For kidney chromogenic IHC, block endogenous peroxidase and check for endogenous biotin signal if using the captioned biotin-based detection system (selected-SKU IHC caption: biotinylated secondary and SABC–DAB).
⚠️Feasibility: A target-specific fixation window or fixation effect is unreported, and the exact selected-SKU tissue-IHC caption does not state a fixative; its paraffin section does not establish fixation (selected-SKU IHC caption). The caption reports heat retrieval in EDTA at pH 8.0, but does not establish whether retrieval is required; the supplied evidence does not establish that frozen sections or IF are easier (selected-SKU IHC caption). Kidney glomeruli provide a strong IHC target (HPA: High in cells in glomeruli); check the kidney section for background from endogenous biotin when using SABC detection (selected-SKU IHC caption). The selected A01986-1 tissue-IHC caption documents paraffin sections, but does not specify the fixative (selected-SKU IHC image A01986-1).
HPA tissue IHC evidence for CDH13
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kidney | Cells in glomeruli | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Heart muscle | Cardiomyocytes | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Skeletal muscle | Myocytes | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Skin | Cells in basal layer | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Smooth muscle | Smooth muscle 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 CDH13 IHC Tips
Troubleshoot CDH13 staining in paraffin section IHC by checking retrieval, cell identity and membrane localisation before comparing staining intensity.
What retrieval should I start with when CDH13 staining is weak?
Start with heat mediated retrieval in EDTA at pH 8.0 for paraffin sections (datasheet A01986-1). The selected image used this retrieval before 2 μg/mL primary antibody overnight at 4°C, so keep those conditions together for an initial comparison (datasheet A01986-1). If staining remains weak, compare a modest change in heating time on adjacent sections while keeping cooling, detection and exposure to chromogen consistent (standard IHC practice). Judge the result in a known positive cell population, such as renal glomerular cells, and reject conditions that increase diffuse background without clearer cell boundaries (HPA: high in glomerular cells; standard IHC practice).
How should I troubleshoot fixation related loss of CDH13 staining?
Target specific sensitivity to fixation is unknown: the selected paraffin section caption does not report its fixative, and the supplied evidence gives no CDH13 fixation comparison (datasheet A01986-1). Record the fixative, fixation duration, specimen thickness and processing history for each block before changing retrieval or antibody concentration (standard IHC practice). Compare sections from blocks with documented handling using the same EDTA pH 8.0 retrieval and identical detection conditions (datasheet A01986-1; standard IHC practice). If one block stains poorly, use morphology and a suitable independent tissue control to assess its preparation; do not assign the difference to a CDH13 specific fixation effect without a controlled comparison (standard IHC practice).
Should CDH13 IHC signal appear only at cell borders?
Prioritise crisp plasma membrane staining because supported subcellular localisation places CDH13 at the plasma membrane, and its topology lacks a transmembrane segment (HPA: supported plasma membrane; UniProt P55290 topology). Cytoplasmic staining can also occur in tissue IHC, including muscle, renal glomeruli, cerebral cortex, endothelium and basal squamous epithelial cells (HPA: tissue IHC profile). Assess the compartment within identified cells instead of treating every brown area as equivalent, and compare adjacent sections under the same retrieval and DAB conditions (standard IHC practice). When cytoplasmic staining dominates without the expected cellular pattern, inspect morphology, counterstain and background before scoring it as specific CDH13 signal (HPA: tissue IHC profile; standard IHC practice).
Could CDH13 processing or isoforms explain discordant staining?
Map the antibody immunogen to the sequence before interpreting discordant IHC, because CDH13 has 5 listed isoforms and a processed chain spanning residues 139–693 (UniProt P55290 isoforms and processing). The precursor includes a signal peptide at 1–22 and propeptide regions at 23–138 and 694–713, so an epitope in a removed region could change what is detectable in tissue (UniProt P55290 processing). CDH13 also has 8 listed glycosylation sites, which makes epitope accessibility a question to test experimentally rather than assume from staining alone (UniProt P55290 glycosylation; standard IHC practice). If the immunogen or isoform coverage is unspecified, document that uncertainty and compare staining with an independently characterised antibody or orthogonal expression evidence (standard IHC practice).
How can IF help check an ambiguous CDH13 IHC pattern?
For a parallel IF assessment, multiplex CDH13 with a validated marker that identifies the expected cell population, such as glomerular cells or endothelium, and inspect cell boundaries within that population (HPA: tissue IHC profile; standard IF practice). Choose fluorophores after measuring autofluorescence in an unstained section, then use single stain controls to assess spectral bleed through (standard IF practice). Match permeabilisation to the antibody epitope: test minimal permeabilisation for an accessible extracellular epitope, and permeabilise when the validated epitope requires intracellular access (UniProt P55290 topology; standard IF practice). Treat IF as a separate assay requiring its own controls; the selected catalog image documents paraffin section chromogenic IHC conditions, not an IF protocol for that antibody (datasheet A01986-1).
What causes diffuse brown staining in CDH13 sections?
First compare a no primary control with the test section to separate primary antibody dependent staining from detection background (standard IHC practice). The selected image used 10% goat serum blocking, biotinylated secondary antibody, streptavidin biotin detection and DAB, so check each detection step when diffuse brown colour appears (datasheet A01986-1). Include a peroxidase block and assess endogenous biotin when using that detection scheme, particularly if the no primary control retains colour (standard IHC practice). Titrate the primary around the documented 2 μg/mL condition and compare matched sections, accepting a change only if expected cellular staining remains distinct from background (datasheet A01986-1; HPA: tissue IHC profile; standard IHC practice).
How should I score heterogeneous CDH13 IHC staining? ⚠ ANSWER MARKED FOR VERIFICATION
Define the tissue compartment and cell population before scoring; HPA reports CDH13 in glomerular cells, cardiomyocytes, myocytes, endothelium and basal squamous epithelial cells (HPA: tissue IHC profile). For cellular staining, record the percentage of positive cells and intensity by category, then calculate an H score from 0–300 using a fixed scoring rule (standard IHC practice). If the question concerns sparse vessels or another defined structure, report positive area or cell density per mm² of that analysed compartment rather than per whole section (standard IHC practice). Normalise comparisons to the same eligible cell population or tissue area, retrieval, chromogen development and image threshold, and score membrane and cytoplasm separately (standard IHC practice; HPA: tissue IHC profile).
How do I distinguish specific CDH13 staining from artefact?
A credible positive shows a reproducible pattern in the expected cells and compartment: CDH13 has supported plasma membrane localisation, while tissue IHC also reports cytoplasmic staining in defined populations (HPA: supported plasma membrane and tissue IHC profile). Use high staining in renal glomerular cells as a positive reference, but do not assume appendix glandular cells are positive because HPA reports them as not detected (HPA: high in glomerular cells; HPA: appendix glandular cells not detected). Review strong section edge staining, necrotic areas and colour retained in a no primary control as potential artefacts (standard IHC practice). If brown signal persists without primary antibody, investigate endogenous enzyme activity and the biotin based detection system before interpreting it as CDH13 (datasheet A01986-1; standard IHC practice).
Boster reagents
Best CDH13 / Cadherin-13 IHC Antibodies
Anti-CDH13 antibodies have paraffin-section IHC images from human and mouse tissues (catalog IHC captions) and IF images from SIHA, K562 and 3T3 cells (catalog IF captions). Rat reactivity is listed (catalog reactivity).
Real IHC data
Anti-H Cadherin/CDH13 Antibody ®
Cat # A01986-1
Real IHC data
Anti-H Cadherin Rabbit Monoclonal Antibody
Cat # M01986-1
Real IHC data
Anti-T-cadherin CDH13 Antibody
Cat # A10606
A01986-1 has human appendicitis, gastric cancer, renal carcinoma and melanoma paraffin-section IHC images plus SIHA IF images (A01986-1 image captions); M01986-1 has human cervical and squamous cell carcinoma and mouse skeletal muscle paraffin-section IHC images (M01986-1 IHC captions). A10606 has mouse brain IHC and K562 and 3T3 IF images (A10606 image captions).
Which to pick: For human paraffin-section IHC, choose A01986-1 if its documented EDTA pH 8 retrieval and DAB workflow suits the experiment; the fixative is unreported (A01986-1 IHC captions). For IF/ICC, A01986-1 has a SIHA cell image and listed IF/ICC applications (A01986-1 IF caption; catalog applications); A10606 has K562 and 3T3 IF images (A10606 IF captions). For tissue IHC across species, M01986-1 is a rabbit monoclonal, clone 20C70, with listed human, mouse and rat reactivity and human and mouse paraffin-section images; its fixative is unreported (M01986-1 catalog; M01986-1 IHC captions).
Each figure is that product's own IHC / IF validation image from its datasheet.
References
- UniProt Consortium. UniProt entry P55290 (CAD13_HUMAN, Cadherin-13).
- Human Protein Atlas. CDH13 tissue IHC expression (reliability: Enhanced).
- Human Protein Atlas. CDH13 subcellular location (ICC-IF): Localized to the plasma membrane..
- Human Protein Atlas. CDH13 antibody validation summary (2 antibodies).
- CDKN2A/p16 Exon 2 Hypermethylation in Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma Associated with Interstitial and Emphysematous Lung Diseases: A Comparative Analysis of Tumor, Adjacent and Distant Lung Tissues. Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) 2026 — PMC13114730.
- Cadherin-13, a risk gene for ADHD and comorbid disorders, impacts GABAergic function in hippocampus and cognition. Translational psychiatry 2015 — PMC4930129.
- Aging Alters the Aortic Proteome in Health and Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm. Arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and vascular biology 2022 — PMC9339483.
- Multimodal analysis reveals potential association of CDH13 with endothelial cells and its overexpression in hepatocellular carcinoma. European journal of medical research 2025 — PMC12817644.
- PubMed PMID:7982033 — UniProt-cited evidence.
- PubMed PMID:8673923 — UniProt-cited evidence.
- PubMed PMID:9737784 — UniProt-cited evidence.
Immunohistochemistry protocol sheet for CDH13 (Cadherin-13). Expected localisation Membranous and cytoplasmic staining (HPA tissue IHC). Antigen retrieval: EDTA pH 8.0 HIER, heat-mediated (datasheet A01986-1). Validated IHC antibody: A01986-1 at 1-2μg/ml (the product's own IHC validation image is shown). Controls (HPA): positive Kidney (Cells in glomeruli); negative Adipose tissue. IHC-P workflow on paraffin sections; fixative unspecified. Protocol steps: 1. Sample: Paraffin-embedded human appendicitis tissue; fixative not specified (datasheet A01986-1); 2. Fixation: Image fixative and duration unreported (datasheet A01986-1); 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: EDTA pH 8.0 (datasheet A01986-1); 20 min, 95–100 °C (standard); 6. Peroxidase block: 3% H2O2, 10 min , room temperature (standard); 7. Blocking: 10% goat serum (datasheet A01986-1); 8. Primary antibody: Rabbit anti-CDH13, 1-2μg/ml (datasheet A01986-1); 9. Primary incubation: Overnight at 4 °C (datasheet A01986-1). Watch for: Fixation: Keep fixation consistent across sections (standard IHC practice; not target-specific). Selected-image fixative and duration unreported (datasheet A01986-1); verify before use.; Caveat: Appendicitis staining does not establish staining in appendix glands (HPA tissue IHC; datasheet A01986-1); Isoform / epitope: 5 isoforms; mature chain spans residues 139–693 , so check epitope placement (UniProt); Regulation: Blood-vessel-enhanced RNA (HPA tissue RNA). Evidence: UniProt P55290, HPA tissue IHC · Enhanced, HPA ICC-IF · plasma membrane., Datasheet A01986-1, PMC13114730. QR code links to https://www.bosterbio.com/bosterbio-gene-info-cards/CDH13/immunohistochemistry-ihc-guide.