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- Table of Contents
Plan FLCN IHC in paraffin sections using its widespread cytoplasmic tissue profile as a reference (HPA tissue IHC). Compare high staining in bronchial respiratory epithelium with low staining in hippocampal glia (HPA tissue IHC).
Expected localisation, validated protocols, controls and antibodies — the at-a-glance facts below, then the full design guide.
| Expected localisation | Cytoplasmic staining across tissues (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Staining pattern | Cytoplasmic staining in many tissue cell types (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Antigen retrieval | EDTA pH 8.0 HIER, heat-mediated (datasheet A00718-1) | |
| Positive control | Bronchus+4 more · see all | |
| Negative control | None in HPA (detected in all 45 tissues); use no-primary + isotype controls |
| Fixation | Matched tissue-IHC evidence does not establish the fixation claim. Validate the specimen-specific method before use. (selected-SKU IHC image A00718-1) | |
| Caveat | Antibody staining has medium consistency with RNA data (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Regulation | Refeeding shifts FLCN to cytosol (UniProt) | |
| Isoform / epitope | 3 isoforms; verify epitope coverage for each (UniProt) |
The catalog antibody protocol uses EDTA pH 8.0 retrieval (datasheet: A00718-1). Two published FLCN IHC protocols provide additional paraffin-section conditions (PMC12267975; PMC4376441).
| Sample | Paraffin-embedded human bladder cancer tissue; fixative not specified (datasheet A00718-1) |
| Fixation | Image fixative and duration unreported (datasheet A00718-1); 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 A00718-1); 20 min, 95–100 °C (standard) |
| Peroxidase block | 3% H2O2, 10 min, room temperature (standard) |
| Blocking | 10% goat serum (datasheet A00718-1) |
| Primary antibody | Rabbit anti-FLCN, 0.5-1μg/ml (datasheet A00718-1) |
| Primary incubation | Overnight at 4 °C (datasheet A00718-1) |
| Detection | Streptavidin-biotin complex (SABC), DAB chromogen (datasheet A00718-1) |
| Counterstain | Hematoxylin, blue, dehydrate and mount (standard) |
| Expected result | FLCN-positive staining in respiratory epithelial cells of bronchus (HPA tissue IHC: High). HPA tissue profile: Ubiquitous cytoplasmic expression. No signal in the no-primary control. |
FLCN should appear mainly in the cytoplasm of many cell types, with strong IHC staining reported in respiratory epithelial cells and elongated or late spermatids (HPA tissue IHC: ubiquitous cytoplasmic expression; High in those cells). HPA rates the tissue pattern Supported, with medium consistency between staining and RNA data (HPA tissue IHC). Cytosolic and lysosome membrane localization is reported, but FLCN has no transmembrane segment (UniProt Q8NFG4: subcellular location; topology).
| Cytoplasmic staining is strong in bronchial or nasopharyngeal respiratory epithelium, or in elongated or late spermatids (HPA tissue IHC: High in these cells). | This matches the reported IHC pattern. Compare signal within the named cell population and its neighbors; widespread cytoplasmic expression means staining outside these examples can also be genuine (HPA tissue IHC: ubiquitous cytoplasmic expression; standard IHC interpretation). |
| Staining appears exclusively as a sharp cell border or uniformly strong nuclei, with little cytoplasmic signal (HPA tissue IHC: cytoplasmic profile). | Treat this as discordant with the predominant IHC pattern and check controls. Nuclear, lysosomal and other locations are reported, so a secondary compartment alone does not prove artefact (UniProt Q8NFG4: subcellular location; HPA subcellular: plasma membrane uncertain). |
| A low-staining population, such as hippocampal glia or soft-tissue fibroblasts, stains much more strongly than neighboring expected-positive cells (HPA tissue IHC: Low in these populations). | Consider cross-reactivity or endogenous chromogen-generating activity, then check antibody-omission controls and cell identity (standard IHC practice). Low HPA staining is not evidence that every cell in that population must be negative (HPA tissue IHC: Low). |
| Diffuse color covers stroma, lumens or much of the section without clear cellular boundaries (standard IHC interpretation). | The distribution is difficult to score as FLCN because the reported pattern is cellular and mainly cytoplasmic (HPA tissue IHC: ubiquitous cytoplasmic expression). Check the detection control and background-reduction steps before assigning positivity (standard IHC practice). |
| No signal appears in an intact bronchial or nasopharyngeal respiratory epithelium on the same run (HPA tissue IHC: High in respiratory epithelial cells). | First suspect an assay or detection failure, including antibody, retrieval or chromogen conditions (standard IHC practice). HPA provides a useful expected-positive reference, but its Supported rating reflects medium agreement with RNA data, not guaranteed staining in every specimen (HPA tissue IHC: reliability description). |
| Tissue and cell selection (HPA tissue IHC: High, Medium and Low cell-level entries). | Bronchial or nasopharyngeal respiratory epithelium and elongated or late spermatids offer strong reference patterns; adipocytes and several glandular or neuronal populations are Medium, while listed glia, fibroblasts and hematopoietic cells are Low (HPA tissue IHC). Score the named cells, not the whole tissue (standard IHC practice). |
| Subcellular distribution and nutrient state (UniProt Q8NFG4: subcellular location). | FLCN can associate with lysosome membranes during amino acid depletion and move toward the cytosol after refeeding (UniProt Q8NFG4: subcellular location). Routine tissue IHC chiefly supports a cytoplasmic call; it does not establish the specimen's nutrient state (HPA tissue IHC: cytoplasmic profile; standard IHC interpretation). |
| Topology and secondary locations (UniProt Q8NFG4: topology and subcellular location). | FLCN has no transmembrane segment, although lysosome membrane, nucleus, cilium, centrosome and spindle locations are reported (UniProt Q8NFG4). A membrane-like or nuclear accent needs context; HPA's plasma membrane IF assignment is uncertain (HPA subcellular). |
| Antibody evidence (HPA antibodies: HPA028760 and CAB015158). | Both listed antibodies have Supported IHC status; HPA028760 also has Supported ICC status (HPA antibodies). The supplied record does not state an Enhanced IHC designation or establish that every antibody reproduces the same intensity (HPA antibodies; HPA tissue IHC: Supported). |
| Situation | Likely cause | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| Expected-positive respiratory epithelium is blank (HPA tissue IHC: High in bronchus and nasopharynx). | Assay failure or insufficient staining conditions are possible; the tissue result alone does not identify which step failed (standard IHC practice). | Confirm section integrity and controls, then review retrieval, antibody dilution, detection reagent and chromogen steps against the catalog antibody's IHC-P procedure (standard IHC practice). |
| Color is diffuse across cells and empty spaces (standard IHC interpretation). | Nonspecific binding or excess chromogen/background is possible (standard IHC practice). | Compare an antibody-omission control; review blocking, washes, dilution and development time before scoring cytoplasmic cells (standard IHC practice). |
| Strong nuclear-only staining dominates a section (HPA tissue IHC: cytoplasmic profile). | This differs from the principal tissue IHC pattern, though nuclear localization is listed for FLCN (UniProt Q8NFG4: nucleus). | Check whether cytoplasmic signal is present in expected-positive cells and compare controls; avoid calling every nuclear signal false solely from its compartment (HPA tissue IHC; standard IHC practice). |
| Low-listed cells stain strongly while expected-positive cells do not (HPA tissue IHC: Low and High cell-level entries). | Cell misidentification, cross-reactivity or endogenous detection activity may explain the mismatch (standard IHC practice). | Recheck morphology and an antibody-omission control, then compare with a listed Supported IHC antibody if available (HPA antibodies: IHC Supported; standard IHC practice). |
| Puncta or cell-edge color appears without a clear cytoplasmic pattern (HPA tissue IHC: cytoplasmic profile). | Lysosome association is biologically plausible, while HPA rates plasma membrane IF localization uncertain (UniProt Q8NFG4: lysosome membrane; HPA subcellular). | Interpret the whole cell and compare expected-positive tissue and controls before assigning FLCN; record puncta separately from diffuse cytoplasmic staining (standard IHC interpretation). |
| IF/ICC: where should FLCN appear (HPA subcellular: ICC-IF)? | HPA reports mainly cytosolic signal, with vesicles as an additional approved location and plasma membrane as uncertain (HPA subcellular). | Use cytosol as the main localization reference; assess vesicles as secondary and interpret apparent plasma membrane signal cautiously (HPA subcellular). Consult the separate IF/ICC guide for assay setup. |
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.
| Tissue | Cell type | Level | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronchus | Respiratory epithelial cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Nasopharynx | Respiratory epithelial cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Testis | Elongated or late spermatids | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Adipose tissue | Adipocytes | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Adrenal gland | Glandular cells | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Tissue | Cell type | Level | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| None in HPA: FLCN is detected in all 45 scored tissues. Use a no-primary (secondary-only) and an isotype control instead. | ||||
Troubleshoot FLCN staining by separating tissue processing effects from its variable cytosolic, lysosomal and nuclear distribution (UniProt Q8NFG4).
A00718-1 has pictured IHC staining in human paraffin tissue and IF staining in U20S cells (catalog image captions); M00718 lists IHC and IF/ICC for human, mouse, and rat (catalog applications/reactivity).
A00718-1 has pictured IHC results in human bladder cancer, appendicitis, and liver cancer paraffin sections, plus IF in U20S cells (catalog image captions). M00718 lists IHC and IF/ICC applications and human, mouse, and rat reactivity, but has no supplied IHC or IF image (catalog applications/reactivity and image fields).
Which to pick: For tissue IHC, choose A00718-1: its pictured human bladder cancer paraffin section used EDTA pH 8 retrieval and DAB detection; the fixative is unreported (catalog IHC image caption). For IF/ICC, A00718-1 has a pictured U20S cell result, while M00718 is a rabbit monoclonal, clone 32F42, with listed IF/ICC use (catalog IF image caption; catalog clone/applications). For mouse or rat work, both list reactivity, but the supplied images document human material only (catalog reactivity and image captions).