CELF1 / CUGBP Elav-like family member 1 · IHC design guide

Design Immunohistochemistry for CELF1

Plan CELF1 paraffin IHC around mainly nuclear tissue staining (HPA tissue IHC). This guide covers fixation consistency, antibody selection, and compartment-aware scoring, with six isoforms to consider when checking epitope coverage (UniProt).

Evidence assembled Oct 2026 · For research use; verify linked source records and product datasheet before use
Immunohistochemistry protocol sheet for CELF1 (IHC for CELF1): expected localisation Mainly nuclear in tissue IHC (HPA tissue IHC), antibody A30541, validated IHC image, and IHC protocol steps
Printable CELF1 IHC protocol sheet — expected localisation Mainly nuclear in tissue IHC (HPA tissue IHC), antibody A30541, controls and protocol steps. Open the full CELF1 IHC guide →

CELF1 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 Mainly nuclear in tissue IHC (HPA tissue IHC)
Staining pattern Mainly nuclear staining across tissues (HPA tissue IHC)
Antigen retrieval Tris-EDTA pH 9.0 HIER, heat-mediated (datasheet A30541)
Positive control ⓘ Adrenal gland+4 more · see all
Negative control ⓘ None in HPA (detected in all 45 tissues); use no-primary + isotype controls
Important caveats
Reasons your staining may differ from the expected pattern.
Fixation Keep fixation consistent across paraffin samples (standard IHC practice; not target-specific)
Caveat Antibody staining and RNA show medium consistency (HPA tissue IHC)
Regulation Low tissue specificity (HPA tissue RNA)
Isoform / epitope Six isoforms; check whether the epitope is shared (UniProt)
Section 1

Recommended CELF1 IHC & IF Protocols

The catalog antibody protocol uses Tris-EDTA pH 9.0 retrieval (datasheet A30541). The published CELF1 IHC protocols below use citrate retrieval (PMC3594286; PMC12646540).

Recommended immunohistochemistry (IHC-P) protocol parameters
SampleParaffin-embedded human tonsil tissue; fixative not specified (datasheet A30541)
FixationImage fixative and duration unreported (datasheet A30541); verify before use.
Sectioning4–5 µm sections on charged slides (standard)
DeparaffinisationXylene, graded ethanol series to water (standard)
Antigen retrievalHeat retrieval: Tris-EDTA pH 9.0 (datasheet A30541); 20 min, 95–100 °C (standard)
Peroxidase block3% H2O2, 10 min, room temperature (standard)
Blocking10% normal serum of the secondary host, 30 min, room temperature (standard)
Primary antibodyRabbit anti-CELF1, 1:100 - 1:300 (datasheet A30541)
Primary incubationOvernight at 4 °C (standard)
DetectionHRP-polymer secondary, DAB chromogen 5–10 min (standard)
CounterstainHematoxylin, blue, dehydrate and mount (standard)
Expected resultCELF1-positive staining in glandular cells of adrenal gland (HPA tissue IHC: High). HPA tissue profile: Mainly nuclear expression in all tissues. No signal in the no-primary control.
💡Decision noteStart with Tris-EDTA pH 9.0 HIER (datasheet A30541); compare citrate retrieval if staining needs optimization (PMC3594286; PMC12646540).
Section 2

What Is the Expected CELF1 Staining Pattern?

In paraffin-section IHC, expect CELF1 mainly in nuclei across tissues (HPA tissue IHC: mainly nuclear expression in all tissues). Strong examples include glandular, hematopoietic, respiratory epithelial, glial, granular-layer and endothelial cells in the specified tissues (HPA tissue IHC: High). Cytoplasmic signal can occur (UniProt Q92879: nucleus and cytoplasm). CELF1 has no transmembrane segment (UniProt Q92879 topology). HPA rates its tissue IHC pattern Supported, with medium consistency between staining and RNA expression (HPA tissue IHC).

What am I looking at on my slide?
Clearly stained nuclei in adrenal gland glandular cells or bone marrow hematopoietic cells (HPA tissue IHC: High).This fits the reported cell types and mainly nuclear pattern (HPA tissue IHC). Judge the chromogenic signal against tissue structure and a counterstain so that stained nuclei can be assigned to the intended cells (general IHC practice).
Signal appears only at cell borders or in extracellular material, with no convincing nuclear staining.A border-only pattern conflicts with the reported nuclear distribution and lack of a transmembrane segment (HPA tissue IHC; UniProt Q92879 topology). Review morphology and controls before calling it CELF1. Cytoplasmic staining alone is less decisive because CELF1 is also reported there (UniProt Q92879).
The strongest staining lies in an unexpected cell population while the listed High population is faint.Check cell identification first: CELF1 is ubiquitous, so staining outside a listed High population is not automatically false (UniProt Q92879: ubiquitous; HPA tissue IHC: High examples). A discordant pattern may indicate cross-reactivity or endogenous chromogen activity; compare controls and another IHC-supported antibody (HPA antibodies; general IHC practice).
Brown signal spreads evenly over nuclei, cytoplasm, stroma and empty slide areas.That distribution is difficult to reconcile with mainly nuclear cellular staining (HPA tissue IHC). Diffuse signal can arise from nonspecific antibody binding, incomplete blocking, excess detection reagent or endogenous detection activity (general IHC practice). Evaluate it against a no-primary control before scoring cells.
No convincing nuclear signal appears in a well-preserved reported High population (HPA tissue IHC: High).An absent result is inconclusive until the run controls work. Confirm the expected cell population is present, then review the antibody’s IHC validation and the assay’s retrieval, detection and control performance (HPA antibodies; general IHC practice). HPA supplies no negative tissue reference for CELF1 (HPA tissue IHC: negative list empty).
💡Expected CELF1 appearanceCall a positive result when identifiable cells show predominantly nuclear chromogenic staining, with strong examples in the listed High populations (HPA tissue IHC); cytoplasmic signal is biologically plausible (UniProt Q92879), whereas isolated border, extracellular or uniform slide-wide staining warrants control review (UniProt Q92879 topology; general IHC practice).
How each factor affects the staining
Choice of reference tissue and cellsUse a reported High population, such as breast glandular cells, bronchial respiratory epithelial cells or caudate glial cells, as an expected-pattern reference (HPA tissue IHC: High). These are examples, not a ranked sensitivity panel: HPA reports no low or negative tissue entries in this payload (HPA tissue IHC).
Strength of tissue-pattern evidenceThe overall tissue IHC reliability is Supported with medium staining–RNA consistency (HPA tissue IHC). Treat a match as supportive, not proof of antibody specificity in an individual section. The reported RNA specificity is low across tissues, and UniProt describes CELF1 as ubiquitous (HPA tissue IHC; UniProt Q92879).
Antibody validationCAB016114 and CAB069989 are IHC Supported; HPA044597 has ICC Supported status but no IHC status in this payload (HPA antibodies). If comparing stains, keep validation tied to the application tested. No supplied antibody has an IHC Enhanced designation here (HPA antibodies).
IF/ICC Q&A: Where should the signal appear?In ICC-IF, expect primarily nucleoplasmic signal, with cytosol also listed (HPA subcellular: Nucleoplasm enhanced; additional Cytosol). HPA lists images from A-431, U-251MG, U2OS, A-549, KOLF2.1J and NIH 3T3 (HPA subcellular). This localization evidence does not set IHC retrieval or dilution conditions.
Topology, processing and variantsCELF1 has no transmembrane segment or signal peptide and is annotated as one chain spanning residues 1–486 (UniProt Q92879 topology and processing). Six isoforms and several modified residues are listed (UniProt Q92879). Without an antibody epitope map, these facts do not predict which variants the catalog antibody detects.
Detection chemistryEndogenous enzyme activity or nonspecific detection-reagent binding can add chromogen unrelated to the primary antibody (general IHC practice). Include an appropriate no-primary control and assess whether its color overlaps the proposed CELF1-positive cells (general IHC practice). HPA’s tissue pattern does not identify a target-specific detection artifact.
Why is my staining missing, weak or wrong?
SituationLikely causeNext action
Nuclei are pale in an expected High population (HPA tissue IHC: High).The target cells may be absent from the section, or the IHC run may have weak retrieval, primary-antibody or detection performance (general IHC practice).Verify cell identity and section quality, check the run’s positive control, and review the validated IHC procedure before interpreting a negative result (HPA antibodies; general IHC practice).
Chromogen is strongest at membranes or along extracellular structures.That distribution disagrees with mainly nuclear staining and a protein without a transmembrane segment (HPA tissue IHC; UniProt Q92879 topology). Nonspecific binding or detection background is possible (general IHC practice).Inspect the no-primary control and tissue morphology; compare with an IHC-supported antibody if the pattern persists (HPA antibodies; general IHC practice).
Cytoplasm stains, but nuclear color is weak or absent.Cytoplasmic CELF1 is plausible, yet HPA reports mainly nuclear tissue expression (UniProt Q92879; HPA tissue IHC). The discrepancy alone cannot establish either a biological shift or an artifact.Score nuclear and cytoplasmic compartments separately, confirm cell identity, and compare a reported High reference population and assay controls (HPA tissue IHC; general IHC practice).
Many unrelated structures share a diffuse brown haze.Background from nonspecific binding or endogenous detection activity may obscure the cellular pattern (general IHC practice).Compare the no-primary control, review blocking and washing, and optimize primary and detection reagents using the applicable IHC procedure (general IHC practice). Do not infer a CELF1-specific fixation effect from this pattern.
A proposed positive cell type differs from the HPA High examples.Cell identification may be uncertain; ubiquitous expression also makes staining elsewhere possible (UniProt Q92879: ubiquitous; HPA tissue IHC: High examples).Recheck morphology and compartment, then compare controls and an independent IHC-supported antibody before calling cross-reactivity (HPA antibodies; general IHC practice).
Two antibody results disagree on the same tissue.The supplied validation statuses establish application support, not identical epitope recognition or identical staining in every specimen (HPA antibodies). CELF1 has six annotated isoforms, but their relevance to either antibody is unknown (UniProt Q92879).Confirm each antibody’s IHC status, compare the same cell populations and controls, and report the disagreement without assigning it to a particular isoform or modification (HPA antibodies; UniProt Q92879; general IHC practice).

Sample controls for CELF1 IHC & IF

🧪Run bone marrow first and expect hematopoietic cells to stain (HPA: High in bone marrow hematopoietic cells). HPA detects CELF1 in all 45 scored tissues, so there is no supported negative tissue; no internal cell population can be designated CELF1-negative, and cells used to assess background should show no specific staining above the no-primary and isotype controls (HPA: no negative rows; standard IHC practice).
Positive control tissue: Adrenal gland (Glandular cells, HPA High)
Negative control tissue: None in HPA: CELF1 is detected in all 45 scored tissues. Use a no-primary (secondary-only) and an isotype control instead.
ICC-IF cell lines (HPA subcellular resource): HPA ICC-IF images show CELF1 in A-431, U-251MG, U2OS, A-549, KOLF2.1J, NIH 3T3, with annotated localisation: Nucleoplasm (enhanced) (HPA subcellular).
Technical controls: Include a no-primary, secondary-only section and an isotype control matched to the primary antibody’s host species, clonality and concentration; use validated CELF1-knockout material as a biological negative if available (standard IHC practice). In bone marrow, quench endogenous peroxidase and check the no-primary section for residual chromogen signal (HPA: bone marrow hematopoietic cells; standard chromogenic IHC practice).
⚠️Feasibility: Paraffin-section IHC is documented for catalog antibody A30541 using Tris-EDTA at pH 9.0 for retrieval, but whether retrieval is required is unreported (selected-SKU tissue-IHC caption). A target-specific fixation window and fixation effect are unreported, and the selected-SKU caption does not state the fixative (selected-SKU tissue-IHC caption). Whether frozen sections or IF are easier is unreported; endogenous peroxidase in hematopoietic cells can complicate chromogenic bone-marrow scoring (HPA: bone marrow hematopoietic cells; standard IHC practice).

HPA tissue IHC evidence for CELF1

Comprehensive Human Protein Atlas IHC scoring per tissue (reliability: Supported — 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.

Positive expression · recommended positive controls

TissueCell typeLevelEvidenceSource
Adrenal gland Glandular cells High Protein (IHC) HPA →
Appendix Glandular cells High Protein (IHC) HPA →
Bone marrow Hematopoietic cells High Protein (IHC) HPA →
Breast Glandular cells High Protein (IHC) HPA →
Bronchus Respiratory epithelial cells High Protein (IHC) HPA →

Undetected expression · recommended negative controls

TissueCell typeLevelEvidenceSource
None in HPA: CELF1 is detected in all 45 scored tissues. Use a no-primary (secondary-only) and an isotype control instead.
Section 3

Advanced CELF1 IHC Tips

Troubleshoot CELF1 staining in paraffin-section chromogenic IHC using the catalog antibody’s documented conditions and compartment-specific controls.

Which retrieval condition should I start with for CELF1 in paraffin sections?
Start with heat-mediated Tris-EDTA at pH 9.0 for paraffin sections (datasheet A30541). The selected tissue-IHC image used that buffer with primary antibody at 1:200 overnight at 4 °C, providing a documented starting combination for this antibody (caption A30541). If staining is weak, compare a less alkaline retrieval condition only as a fallback, keeping section thickness, antibody exposure and detection constant (standard IHC practice). Include a known positive section in each comparison, since HPA reports mainly nuclear CELF1 across tissues (HPA tissue IHC). Reject any condition that increases diffuse background more than interpretable nuclear signal (standard IHC practice).
How should I handle uncertain fixation when CELF1 staining is weak?
The selected caption identifies paraffin-embedded human tonsil but does not report its fixative, so target-specific fixation sensitivity remains unknown (caption A30541). Record the fixative, fixation duration and processing history for each specimen before comparing CELF1 staining across cases (standard IHC practice). Run similarly processed control sections together and begin with Tris-EDTA at pH 9.0 and primary antibody at 1:200 overnight at 4 °C (datasheet A30541; caption A30541). If weak staining tracks with a processing batch, compare retrieval and detection on matched sections before attributing the difference to CELF1 abundance (standard IHC practice). Do not derive fixation tolerance from tissue expression or protein sequence features (caption A30541).
Should I score CELF1 in nuclei, cytoplasm, or both?
Score nuclear and cytoplasmic staining separately because CELF1 is reported in both compartments, while HPA tissue IHC describes mainly nuclear expression (UniProt Q92879; HPA tissue IHC). HPA subcellular imaging further places CELF1 in the nucleoplasm, with cytosol as an additional location (HPA subcellular). Use a nuclear counterstain to define nuclei, then assess chromogen confined to each compartment rather than assigning whole-cell positivity (standard IHC practice). When cytoplasmic staining predominates, inspect neighbouring cells and a known positive section processed in parallel before calling it biological redistribution (standard IHC practice). Document the tissue and cell population, since CELF1 is broadly expressed rather than restricted to one tissue (UniProt Q92879).
Could isoforms or epitope accessibility explain discordant CELF1 staining?
CELF1 has 6 annotated isoforms and three RNA recognition motifs spanning residues 16–99, 108–188 and 401–479 in the listed sequence (UniProt Q92879). The supplied evidence does not identify the catalog antibody’s epitope or establish which isoforms it detects (datasheet A30541; UniProt Q92879). Treat a changed nuclear-to-cytoplasmic pattern as a staining observation, rather than proof of an isoform switch or epitope modification (UniProt Q92879; standard IHC practice). Compare matched sections under the documented pH 9.0 retrieval and 1:200 primary conditions before investigating epitope accessibility (datasheet A30541; caption A30541). An independent epitope or orthogonal assay can help assess a persistent discrepancy (standard IHC practice).
How can IF help resolve an ambiguous chromogenic CELF1 pattern?
Use IF as a separate assay to examine whether CELF1 overlaps a marker identifying the cell population of interest; choose that marker from the specimen’s known cell types (standard IF practice). CELF1 is intracellular and has no transmembrane segment, so permeabilisation must allow antibody access to nuclear or cytosolic epitopes, although the catalog antibody’s epitope is unspecified (UniProt Q92879; standard IF practice). Choose fluorophores in channels with low tissue autofluorescence and inspect unstained tissue in those channels before multiplexing (standard IF practice). Acquire a nuclear counterstain to distinguish nucleoplasmic from cytosolic signal, both reported CELF1 locations (HPA subcellular; standard IF practice). Do not transfer the paraffin-section 1:200 condition to IF without optimisation (caption A30541; standard IF practice).
How do I reduce diffuse brown staining without losing CELF1 signal?
First compare no-primary and known positive sections to distinguish detection background from interpretable CELF1 staining (standard IHC practice). For peroxidase-based chromogenic detection, block endogenous peroxidase before applying the detection system, and limit DAB development if background rises (standard IHC practice). Check whether the documented 1:200 primary incubation overnight at 4 °C and 1:200 secondary incubation for 45 minutes were followed (caption A30541). Improve blocking and washing while holding retrieval at Tris-EDTA pH 9.0 during the initial comparison (datasheet A30541; standard IHC practice). Evaluate nuclear signal separately from diffuse extracellular or edge staining, given HPA’s mainly nuclear tissue pattern (HPA tissue IHC; standard IHC practice).
What is a defensible way to quantify CELF1 across sections? ⚠ ANSWER MARKED FOR VERIFICATION
Define the tissue region and cell population before scoring, and exclude folds, section edges and necrotic areas from measurement (standard IHC practice). Record nuclear percent-positive cells and intensity using an H-score from 0–300; report cytoplasmic staining separately when present (standard IHC practice; UniProt Q92879). For spatial comparisons, report positive-cell density per mm² of evaluable tissue and normalise counts to the number of cells assessed or evaluable area (standard IHC practice). Keep retrieval at pH 9.0 and the documented 1:200 primary condition consistent across compared sections (datasheet A30541; caption A30541). Use the same threshold and control material across batches because HPA’s tissue-IHC reliability is Supported with medium RNA–staining consistency (HPA tissue IHC; standard IHC practice).
When should an apparent CELF1-positive region be considered artefactual?
A credible result should show interpretable cellular staining, with nuclear signal expected to be prominent in tissue IHC and cytoplasmic signal assessed separately (HPA tissue IHC; UniProt Q92879). Check whether the stained cells match the annotated population in the specimen; HPA reports high signal in selected glandular, hematopoietic, respiratory epithelial, glial and endothelial populations (HPA tissue IHC). Signal restricted to section edges, folds or necrotic areas warrants repeat review on an intact region (standard IHC practice). Brown precipitate persisting in a no-primary control suggests detection background, including endogenous enzyme activity in peroxidase workflows (standard IHC practice). Interpret a changed compartment pattern only after comparing matched processing, retrieval and controls (standard IHC practice).
Boster reagents

Best CELF1 / CUGBP Elav-like family member 1 IHC Antibodies

Two anti-CELF1 antibodies have IHC images from paraffin-embedded human tonsil and breast carcinoma (catalog: IHC captions). Both list human, mouse and rat reactivity (catalog: reactivity); A30541 also lists IF/ICC (catalog: applications).

Real IHC data Immunohistochemical analysis of paraffin-embedded human tonsil. 1, Antibody was diluted at 1:200(4° overnight). 2, Tris-EDTA,pH9.0 was used for antigen retrieval. 3,Secondary antibody was diluted at 1:200(room temperature, 45min).
Anti-CELF-1 Antibody
Cat # A30541
Real IHC data Immunohistochemistry (IHC) analyzes of CUG-BP1/2 (K95) pAb in paraffin-embedded human breast carcinoma tissue at 1:50.
Anti-CUG-BP1/2 (K95) CELF1 Antibody
Cat # A02163

A30541 shows IHC staining of paraffin-embedded human tonsil at 1:200 with Tris-EDTA pH 9.0 retrieval (A30541 image caption); it lists IHC, IF and ICC applications and human, mouse and rat reactivity (catalog: A30541). A02163 shows IHC staining of paraffin-embedded human breast carcinoma at 1:50 (A02163 image caption); it lists IHC and human, mouse and rat reactivity (catalog: A02163).

Which to pick: For tissue IHC, choose A30541 for the documented human tonsil example or A02163 for the documented human breast carcinoma example; both captions describe paraffin sections but leave the fixative unreported (catalog: IHC captions). For IF/ICC, choose A30541 because those applications are listed for it, while A02163 lists IHC only; both are rabbit polyclonals (catalog: applications, host and dilution_raw). Both list mouse and rat reactivity, but their IHC images show human tissue, so establish staining conditions in the intended species (catalog: reactivity and IHC captions).

Each figure is that product's own IHC / IF validation image from its datasheet.

References

  1. UniProt Consortium. UniProt entry Q92879 (CELF1_HUMAN, CUGBP Elav-like family member 1).
  2. Human Protein Atlas. CELF1 tissue IHC expression (reliability: Supported).
  3. Human Protein Atlas. CELF1 subcellular location (ICC-IF): Localized to the nucleoplasm..
  4. Human Protein Atlas. CELF1 antibody validation summary (3 antibodies).
  5. CELF1 is Up-Regulated in Glioma and Promotes Glioma Cell Proliferation by Suppression of CDKN1B. International journal of biological sciences 2015 — PMC4625542.
  6. Overexpression of RNA-binding protein CELF1 prevents apoptosis and destabilizes pro-apoptotic mRNAs in oral cancer cells. RNA biology 2013 — PMC3594286.
  7. CELF1 promotes aerobic glycolysis and an aggressive phenotype in ER-positive breast cancer via GLUT1 regulation. Frontiers in genetics 2025 — PMC12646540.
  8. Systems analysis identifies melanoma-enriched pro-oncogenic networks controlled by the RNA binding protein CELF1. Nature communications 2017 — PMC5740069.
  9. PubMed PMID:8948631 — UniProt-cited evidence.
  10. PubMed PMID:10893231 — UniProt-cited evidence.
  11. PubMed PMID:11686919 — UniProt-cited evidence.