CLTC / Clathrin heavy chain 1 · IHC design guide

Design Immunohistochemistry for CLTC

Plan CLTC chromogenic IHC in paraffin sections using parathyroid glandular and placental trophoblastic cells as high staining references (HPA tissue IHC). Start with the catalog antibody’s 1:50 IHC dilution (datasheet M03134) and assess cytoplasmic and membranous staining (HPA tissue IHC).

Evidence assembled Oct 2026 · For research use; verify linked source records and product datasheet before use
Immunohistochemistry protocol sheet for CLTC (IHC for CLTC): expected localisation Cytoplasmic and membranous staining (HPA tissue IHC), antibody M03134, validated IHC image, and IHC protocol steps
Printable CLTC IHC protocol sheet — expected localisation Cytoplasmic and membranous staining (HPA tissue IHC), antibody M03134, controls and protocol steps. Open the full CLTC IHC guide →

CLTC 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 and membranous staining (HPA tissue IHC)
Staining pattern High in glandular and trophoblastic cells; cytoplasmic/membranous (HPA tissue IHC)
Antigen retrieval EDTA pH 8.0 HIER, heat-mediated (datasheet M03134)
Positive control ⓘ Parathyroid gland+4 more · see all
Negative control ⓘ Adipose tissue+3 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)
Caveat Medium consistency with RNA expression (HPA tissue IHC)
Regulation No specific regulator annotated (UniProt)
Isoform / epitope 2 isoforms; epitope coverage unknown (UniProt)
Section 1

Recommended CLTC IHC & IF Protocols

The catalog antibody protocol uses EDTA pH 8.0 retrieval (datasheet M03134). The published breast cancer IHC protocol below uses citrate pH 6.0 retrieval (PMC4284514).

Recommended immunohistochemistry (IHC-P) protocol parameters
SampleParaffin-embedded human liver cancer tissue; fixative not specified (datasheet M03134)
FixationImage fixative and duration unreported (datasheet M03134); verify before use.
Sectioning4–5 µm sections on charged slides (standard)
DeparaffinisationXylene, graded ethanol series to water (standard)
Antigen retrievalHeat retrieval: EDTA pH 8.0 (datasheet M03134); 20 min, 95–100 °C (standard)
Peroxidase block3% H2O2, 10 min, room temperature (standard)
Blocking10% goat serum (datasheet M03134)
Primary antibodyRabbit monoclonal (clone ABDH-3) anti-CLTC, 1:50 (datasheet M03134)
Primary incubationOvernight at 4 °C (datasheet M03134)
DetectionHRP-conjugated secondary, DAB chromogen (datasheet M03134)
CounterstainHematoxylin, blue, dehydrate and mount (standard)
Expected resultCLTC-positive staining in glandular cells of parathyroid gland (HPA tissue IHC: High). HPA tissue profile: General cytoplasmic and membranous expression. No signal in the no-primary control.
💡Decision noteStart with EDTA pH 8.0 retrieval for the catalog antibody (datasheet M03134); use citrate pH 6.0 when reproducing the published method (PMC4284514).
Section 2

What Is the Expected CLTC Staining Pattern?

CLTC should give predominantly cytoplasmic and membranous staining in paraffin sections, consistent with its location on the cytoplasmic face of coated pits and vesicles and its lack of a transmembrane segment (UniProt Q00610 topology; HPA tissue IHC). Expect strong staining in parathyroid glandular cells and placental trophoblastic cells (HPA: High). HPA rates the tissue IHC pattern Approved, with medium consistency between staining and RNA expression (HPA tissue IHC).

What am I looking at on my slide?
Cytoplasmic staining, with membranous accentuation, in parathyroid glandular cells or placental trophoblastic cells.This matches the HPA tissue pattern, which rates both cell populations High (HPA tissue IHC). CLTC associates with the cytoplasmic face of coated pits and vesicles, so staining need not form a continuous cell outline (UniProt Q00610 subcellular location). Interpret intensity against controls from the same staining run (general IHC practice).
Predominantly nuclear staining, with little cytoplasmic signal, in an otherwise positive section.This does not fit the general cytoplasmic and membranous tissue pattern (HPA tissue IHC). Review antibody specificity, detection background and the section's morphology before calling it CLTC; the supplied sources do not establish a nuclear tissue IHC pattern (HPA tissue IHC; UniProt Q00610 subcellular location).
Strong staining in adipocytes, oral squamous epithelial cells, or muscle cells while expected positive cells are weak.HPA reports CLTC as Not detected in adipocytes, oral squamous epithelial cells, skeletal myocytes and smooth muscle cells (HPA tissue IHC). Consider cross-reactivity or endogenous detection activity, and check a no-primary control (general IHC practice). An unexpected positive alone cannot prove either cause, especially given HPA's medium RNA–staining consistency (HPA tissue IHC).
Diffuse color across cells, stroma and empty areas, with little compartment distinction.Treat this as background until controls show otherwise (general IHC practice). It does not resolve the expected cytoplasmic and membranous cellular pattern (HPA tissue IHC). Compare no-primary and tissue controls, then assess blocking, washing, primary-antibody concentration and detection chemistry (general IHC practice).
No staining in parathyroid glandular cells or placental trophoblastic cells.These are High HPA tissue IHC examples, so their absence raises a run-performance question (HPA tissue IHC). Check section quality, retrieval conditions, antibody preparation and chromogen development against run controls (general IHC practice). HPA's Approved rating has medium RNA–staining consistency; a single negative section does not establish biological absence (HPA tissue IHC).
💡Expected CLTC appearanceCall a convincing positive when parathyroid glandular cells or placental trophoblastic cells show strong cytoplasmic staining with possible membranous accentuation (HPA: High; HPA tissue IHC); isolated nuclear or widespread noncellular color is suspect because it lacks the reported tissue pattern (HPA tissue IHC).
How each factor affects the staining
Topology and compartmentCLTC has no transmembrane segment and lies on the cytoplasmic face of coated pits and vesicles (UniProt Q00610 topology and subcellular location). Membranous accentuation can therefore accompany cytoplasmic staining; require cellular context when scoring an apparent membrane signal (HPA tissue IHC; general IHC practice).
Tissue benchmark and evidence strengthHPA rates parathyroid glandular cells and placental trophoblastic cells High, while its overall tissue IHC reliability is Approved with medium RNA–staining consistency (HPA tissue IHC). Use those examples as positive benchmarks; treat an unexpected tissue result as a finding to verify, not a definitive expression call (general IHC practice).
Antigen retrievalTarget-specific fixation effects are not established by the supplied assay evidence. Verify with a matched IHC source before attributing a result to fixation.
Isoforms and processingUniProt lists two CLTC isoforms and a mature chain spanning residues 2–1675, without a signal peptide or propeptide (UniProt Q00610 isoforms and processing). These annotations alone cannot show whether an antibody recognizes both isoforms; verify the immunogen or epitope documentation before attributing a pattern difference to isoform recognition (general IHC practice).
IF/ICC: What appearance is expected?HPA reports mainly endosomal and lysosomal localization in ICC-IF, with additional supported mitotic-spindle localization (HPA subcellular). That can appear punctate in fluorescence images; it is context for interpretation, not a separate IF/ICC protocol or a requirement that chromogenic tissue IHC resolve individual vesicles (HPA subcellular; general microscopy practice).
Why is my staining missing, weak or wrong?
SituationLikely causeNext action
Known-positive tissue is blank.The staining run may have failed, or the chosen conditions may not reveal the antibody's signal (general IHC practice).Check run controls, section integrity, antibody preparation, retrieval and detection steps; compare with parathyroid or placental positive cells (general IHC practice; HPA: High).
Signal is mainly nuclear.The compartment differs from HPA's general cytoplasmic and membranous tissue profile (HPA tissue IHC).Examine morphology and no-primary controls, then reassess antibody specificity and detection background before scoring CLTC (general IHC practice).
Color persists without primary antibody.Endogenous detection activity or nonspecific detection chemistry may contribute (general IHC practice).Apply the detection system's appropriate endogenous-activity controls or blocking step and repeat the no-primary control (general IHC practice).
Adipocytes or oral squamous epithelial cells stain strongly.Those cell types are Not detected in the HPA examples; cross-reactivity or background is possible (HPA tissue IHC; general IHC practice).Compare expected positive cells, a no-primary control and tissue morphology; investigate the unexpected result before treating it as CLTC expression (general IHC practice).
The whole section has a diffuse haze.Nonspecific reagent binding, insufficient washing or excessive detection signal may obscure the cellular pattern (general IHC practice).Review blocking, washing, antibody concentration and development time with matched controls; score only distinguishable cellular staining (general IHC practice).
IF puncta seem inconsistent with broad IHC cytoplasmic staining.HPA describes enhanced endosomal and lysosomal ICC-IF localization, while its tissue IHC profile is generally cytoplasmic and membranous (HPA subcellular; HPA tissue IHC).Interpret each image at its method's resolution and compare within the same application; use the separate IF/ICC guide for fluorescence workflow (general microscopy practice).

Sample controls for CLTC IHC & IF

🧪Run parathyroid gland first and expect its glandular cells to stain (HPA: High in parathyroid glandular cells). Use adipose tissue as the negative tissue; its adipocytes are listed as not detected (HPA: Not detected in adipocytes). On the positive slide, cells without specific staining should show counterstain without brown DAB deposit; HPA does not identify a defined internal negative cell population (HPA: parathyroid glandular cells High).
Positive control tissue: Parathyroid gland (Glandular cells, HPA High)
Negative control tissue: Adipose tissue (HPA Not detected)
ICC-IF cell lines (HPA subcellular resource): HPA ICC-IF images show CLTC in A-431, U-251MG, U2OS, RPTEC/TERT1, hTERT-RPE1 (serum starved), Sperm, HeLa BAC 4422, HeLa , with annotated localisation: Endosomes (enhanced), Lysosomes (enhanced) (HPA subcellular).
Technical controls: Include a no-primary, secondary-only control and a concentration-matched rabbit IgG isotype control matched to the primary antibody’s clonality where applicable (selected-SKU caption: rabbit anti-CLTC antibody). Use a validated CLTC knockout specimen as a biological negative, and quench endogenous peroxidase before DAB detection while checking the no-primary slide for residual tissue background (selected-SKU caption: HRP/DAB detection).
⚠️Feasibility: A target-specific fixation window or fixation effect is unreported, and the selected-SKU paraffin-section caption does not state a fixative (selected-SKU caption: fixative not stated). Heat-mediated retrieval in EDTA at pH 8.0 was used for the pictured liver cancer section; its necessity in parathyroid gland is unreported (selected-SKU caption: EDTA pH 8.0 retrieval in liver cancer tissue). Neither frozen sections nor IF are established as easier for this antibody, and no parathyroid-specific artefact is reported; the supplied IF evidence consists of cell-line ICC-IF localisation (HPA: endosomes and lysosomes enhanced; selected-SKU caption: tissue IHC only).

HPA tissue IHC evidence for CLTC

Comprehensive Human Protein Atlas IHC scoring per tissue (reliability: Approved — 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
Parathyroid gland Glandular cells High Protein (IHC) HPA →
Placenta Trophoblastic cells High Protein (IHC) HPA →
Adrenal gland Glandular cells Medium Protein (IHC) HPA →
Appendix Glandular cells Medium Protein (IHC) HPA →
Bone marrow Hematopoietic cells Medium Protein (IHC) HPA →

Undetected expression · recommended negative controls

TissueCell typeLevelEvidenceSource
Adipose tissue Adipocytes Not detected Protein (IHC) HPA →
Oral mucosa Squamous epithelial cells Not detected Protein (IHC) HPA →
Skeletal muscle Myocytes Not detected Protein (IHC) HPA →
Smooth muscle Smooth muscle cells Not detected Protein (IHC) HPA →
Section 3

Advanced CLTC IHC Tips

Troubleshoot CLTC staining in paraffin sections by checking retrieval, controls, and the expected cytoplasmic pattern (datasheet M03134; HPA: tissue IHC).

What should I adjust when CLTC staining is weak after antigen retrieval?
Start with heat-mediated antigen retrieval in EDTA at pH 8.0 for paraffin sections (datasheet M03134). The selected CLTC image used this condition before 10% goat-serum blocking and 1:50 primary antibody overnight at 4°C; reproduce those steps when investigating weak DAB staining (datasheet M03134). Compare serial sections while keeping heating, cooling, antibody incubation, and DAB development consistent, and include a no-primary control to assess background (standard IHC practice). If signal remains weak, titrate retrieval duration first; consider another buffer only as a fallback, then judge improvement against the expected cytoplasmic and membranous pattern (standard IHC practice; HPA: tissue IHC).
Could fixation explain inconsistent CLTC staining between paraffin samples?
CLTC-specific sensitivity to fixation is unknown because the selected paraffin-section caption does not report a fixative (datasheet M03134). Record each sample’s fixative and fixation interval, then compare matched sections processed with EDTA at pH 8.0 and the same antibody incubation (standard IHC practice; datasheet M03134). Include a similarly processed positive reference with each run so loss of staining can be distinguished from a run-wide detection problem (standard IHC practice). Do not assign a fixation effect to CLTC from its reported intracellular locations or modified residues; assess the effect experimentally with matched material (UniProt Q00610 localization and modified residues; standard IHC practice).
Where should convincing CLTC staining appear in a chromogenic section?
Expect predominantly cytoplasmic and membranous staining in tissue sections, consistent with the approved HPA IHC profile (HPA: general cytoplasmic and membranous expression). CLTC associates with the cytoplasmic face of coated pits and vesicles, and can also occur at the mitotic spindle (UniProt Q00610 localization). A fine cytoplasmic distribution is therefore plausible, but DAB morphology alone cannot establish that an individual stained structure is an endosome, lysosome, or coated vesicle (UniProt Q00610 localization; standard IHC interpretation). Compare staining across intact cells and a no-primary control before treating isolated nuclear colour, damaged tissue, or section edges as CLTC signal (standard IHC practice).
How can an uncertain antibody epitope affect CLTC IHC interpretation?
CLTC has 2 annotated isoforms, while the supplied M03134 caption does not identify the antibody epitope (UniProt Q00610 isoforms; datasheet M03134). Consequently, a positive DAB result cannot by itself establish which isoform was detected (UniProt Q00610 isoforms; standard IHC interpretation). CLTC has no annotated transmembrane segment and is reported on the cytoplasmic face of coated pits and vesicles, but that topology does not locate this antibody’s binding site (UniProt Q00610 topology and localization; datasheet M03134). If an epitope sequence becomes available, compare it with both isoforms and test specificity using an appropriate loss-of-target control processed alongside the sections (standard IHC practice).
How should I investigate CLTC localisation with a companion IF experiment?
Treat IF use of M03134 as a separate optimization because its supplied image documents chromogenic paraffin-section IHC (datasheet M03134). Multiplex CLTC with a marker for the cell type being assessed, and choose spectrally separated fluorophores after checking the tissue’s autofluorescence in unstained controls (standard IF practice). Because CLTC lies on the cytoplasmic face of coated pits and vesicles, optimize permeabilisation to expose intracellular antigen while preserving cellular structure (UniProt Q00610 topology and localization; standard IF practice). Compare any punctate pattern with appropriate organelle-marker controls; HPA reports enhanced endosomal and lysosomal localisation, but that assignment cannot be made from CLTC fluorescence alone (HPA: subcellular localisation; standard IF interpretation).
How can I reduce diffuse or misleading CLTC DAB background?
Begin by checking a no-primary section and endogenous peroxidase blocking, since either detection background or endogenous enzyme activity can produce DAB colour unrelated to CLTC (standard IHC practice). The selected image used 10% goat serum, 1:50 primary antibody overnight at 4°C, and a peroxidase-conjugated secondary for 30 minutes at 37°C (datasheet M03134). If background persists, compare primary-antibody titrations and wash conditions on adjacent sections while holding DAB development constant (standard IHC practice). Retain the condition that improves cell-associated cytoplasmic signal without increasing staining in blank areas, damaged tissue, or the no-primary control (HPA: tissue IHC; standard IHC practice).
What is a defensible way to quantify CLTC staining across sections? ⚠ ANSWER MARKED FOR VERIFICATION
Define the cell population and analysis region before scoring, then record the percentage of positive cells and cytoplasmic intensity as an H-score (standard IHC practice; HPA: general cytoplasmic expression). If puncta are reliably resolved, report positive-object density per mm² within annotated viable tissue as a separate measure (standard IHC practice). Normalize each result to the relevant cell count or viable tissue area, and keep retrieval, imaging, threshold, and DAB development consistent across samples (standard IHC practice). Stratify results by cell type rather than averaging unlike regions: HPA reports high staining in parathyroid glandular cells and placental trophoblastic cells but no detected staining in adipocytes (HPA: tissue IHC).
How do I distinguish genuine CLTC positivity from tissue artefact?
Look for reproducible cytoplasmic or membranous staining in intact cells, consistent with HPA tissue IHC and CLTC’s association with coated pits and vesicles (HPA: tissue IHC; UniProt Q00610 localization). Compare the stained cell type with the sampled tissue: HPA reports high signal in parathyroid glandular cells and placental trophoblastic cells, but no detected signal in adipocytes (HPA: tissue IHC). Treat isolated nuclear colour, section-edge staining, and signal confined to necrotic areas cautiously, and check a no-primary section for endogenous enzyme or detection background (standard IHC practice). HPA rates tissue staining as approved with medium consistency against RNA data, so resolve unexpected patterns with independent controls before assigning biological meaning (HPA: tissue IHC reliability; standard IHC practice).
Boster reagents

Best CLTC / Clathrin heavy chain 1 IHC Antibodies

Three anti-CLTC antibodies have paraffin-section IHC images from human tissues (catalog IHC captions); A03134-1 also has mouse and rat intestine IHC images and a cell IF image (A03134-1 image captions).

Real IHC data IHC analysis of CLTC using anti-CLTC antibody (M03134). CLTC was detected in a paraffin-embedded section of human liver cancer tissue. Heat mediated antigen retrieval was performed in EDTA buffer (pH 8.0, epitope retrieval solution). The tissue section was blocked with 10% goat serum. The tissue section was then incubated with 1:50 rabbit anti-CLTC Antibody (M03134) overnight at 4°C. Peroxidase Conjugated Goat Anti-rabbit IgG was used as secondary antibody and incubated for 30 minutes at 37°C. The tissue section was developed using HRP Conjugated Rabbit IgG Super Vision Assay Kit (Catalog # SV0002) with DAB as the chromogen.
Anti-Clathrin heavy chain Rabbit Monoclonal Antibody
Cat # M03134
Real IHC data IHC analysis of Clathrin heavy chain/CLTC using anti-Clathrin heavy chain/CLTC antibody (A03134-1). Clathrin heavy chain/CLTC was detected in paraffin-embedded section of human lung cancer tissue. Heat mediated antigen retrieval was performed in EDTA buffer (pH8.0, epitope retrieval solution). The tissue section was blocked with 10% goat serum. The tissue section was then incubated with 2μg/ml rabbit anti-Clathrin heavy chain/CLTC Antibody (A03134-1) overnight at 4°C. Biotinylated goat anti-rabbit IgG was used as secondary antibody and incubated for 30 minutes at 37°C. The tissue section was developed using Strepavidin-Biotin-Complex (SABC) (Catalog # SA1022) with DAB as the chromogen.
Anti-Clathrin heavy chain/CLTC Antibody ®
Cat # A03134-1
Real IHC data IHC analysis of Clathrin heavy chain/CLTC using anti-Clathrin heavy chain/CLTC antibody (M03134-2). Clathrin heavy chain/CLTC was detected in paraffin-embedded section of human pancreatic cancer tissue. Heat mediated antigen retrieval was performed in EDTA buffer (pH8.0, epitope retrieval solution). The tissue section was blocked with 10% goat serum. The tissue section was then incubated with 2μg/ml mouse anti-Clathrin heavy chain/CLTC Antibody (M03134-2) overnight at 4°C. Biotinylated goat anti-mouse IgG was used as secondary antibody and incubated for 30 minutes at 37°C. The tissue section was developed using Strepavidin-Biotin-Complex (SABC) (Catalog # SA1021) with DAB as the chromogen.
Anti-Clathrin heavy chain/CLTC Antibody ® (monoclonal, 6D3)
Cat # M03134-2

M03134 has IHC images from human liver and lung cancer sections (M03134 IHC captions), while A03134-1 has IHC images from human lung cancer and mouse and rat intestine, plus IF in U20S cells (A03134-1 image captions). M03134-2 has IHC images from human pancreatic cancer, renal carcinoma and tonsil sections (M03134-2 IHC captions).

Which to pick: For tissue IHC, choose M03134 for its rabbit monoclonal clone and human liver and lung cancer paraffin-section examples (catalog: clone ABDH-3; M03134 IHC captions); M03134-2 offers a mouse monoclonal with human pancreatic cancer, renal carcinoma and tonsil examples (catalog: clone 6D3; M03134-2 IHC captions). For IF/ICC, choose A03134-1 because it lists both applications and has a cell IF image (catalog: applications; A03134-1 IF caption). For cross-species paraffin IHC, A03134-1 has human, mouse and rat section images (A03134-1 IHC captions); the fixative is unreported in the IHC captions for all three SKUs (catalog IHC captions).

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

References

  1. UniProt Consortium. UniProt entry Q00610 (CLH1_HUMAN, Clathrin heavy chain 1).
  2. Human Protein Atlas. CLTC tissue IHC expression (reliability: Approved).
  3. Human Protein Atlas. CLTC subcellular location (ICC-IF): Mainly localized to the endosomes and lysosomes. In addition localized to the cytosol, centriolar satellites, mitotic spindle and mid piece..
  4. Human Protein Atlas. CLTC antibody validation summary (4 antibodies).
  5. MicroRNA-574-3p, identified by microRNA library-based functional screening, modulates tamoxifen response in breast cancer. Scientific reports 2015 — PMC4284514.
  6. Enamel defects in Acp4(R110C/R110C) mice and human ACP4 mutations. Scientific reports 2022 — PMC9526733.
  7. Epithelioid Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Sarcoma: Case Series With a First Report of CLTC::ALK Fusion in an Aggressive Disease. Genes, chromosomes & cancer 2025 — PMC12086959.
  8. PubMed PMID:7584026 — UniProt-cited evidence.
  9. PubMed PMID:17974005 — UniProt-cited evidence.
  10. PubMed PMID:15489334 — UniProt-cited evidence.