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- Table of Contents
Plan FLT4 staining in paraffin sections around the membranous and cytoplasmic pattern reported across tissues, including endothelial cells (HPA tissue IHC). Use the IHC-validated antibody's paraffin-section conditions as a starting point (datasheet: A01276-2), and interpret staining with the secreted isoform in mind (UniProt).
Expected localisation, validated protocols, controls and antibodies — the at-a-glance facts below, then the full design guide.
| Expected localisation | Membranous and cytoplasmic staining (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Staining pattern | Cytoplasmic and membranous staining, including endothelial cells (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Antigen retrieval | Citrate pH 6 HIER, heat-mediated (datasheet A01276-2) | |
| Positive control | Adrenal gland+4 more · see all | |
| Negative control | Bone marrow+3 more · see all |
| Fixation | Keep fixation consistent across sections. (standard IHC practice; not target-specific) | |
| Caveat | Secreted isoform 3 may alter tissue staining (UniProt) | |
| Regulation | FLT4 signaling enhances VEGFC production (UniProt) | |
| Isoform / epitope | Three isoforms; isoform 2 has a shorter cytoplasmic tail, while isoform 3 is secreted, so epitope location matters (UniProt) |
The catalog antibody’s IHC-P protocol (datasheet A01276-2) is followed by published FLT4 IHC methods for colorectal tissue (PMC4413649) and Kaposi sarcoma biopsies (PMC10093722).
| Sample | Paraffin-embedded human colon cancer tissue; fixative not specified (datasheet A01276-2) |
| Fixation | Image fixative and duration unreported (datasheet A01276-2); verify before use. |
| Sectioning | 4–5 µm sections on charged slides (standard) |
| Deparaffinisation | Xylene, graded ethanol series to water (standard) |
| Antigen retrieval | Heat retrieval: Citrate pH 6, 20 min (datasheet A01276-2) |
| Peroxidase block | 3% H2O2, 10 min, room temperature (standard) |
| Blocking | 10% goat serum (datasheet A01276-2) |
| Primary antibody | Rabbit anti-FLT4, 0.5-1μg/ml (datasheet A01276-2) |
| Primary incubation | Overnight at 4 °C (standard) |
| Detection | Streptavidin-biotin complex (SABC), DAB chromogen (datasheet A01276-2) |
| Counterstain | Hematoxylin, blue, dehydrate and mount (standard) |
| Expected result | FLT4-positive staining in glandular cells of adrenal gland (HPA tissue IHC: High). HPA tissue profile: Cytoplasmic and membranous expression in most tissues, including endothelial cells. No signal in the no-primary control. |
FLT4 is a single-pass membrane receptor with an extracellular region and a cytoplasmic kinase region (UniProt P35916 topology). In paraffin tissue sections, expect membranous and cytoplasmic staining, including in endothelial cells (HPA tissue IHC: Approved). HPA also reports high staining in selected epithelial and other cell populations, so endothelial staining is not the sole expected positive pattern (HPA tissue IHC).
| Membranous and cytoplasmic staining in endothelial cells or documented positive cell populations. | This matches the approved tissue profile (HPA tissue IHC: Approved). Judge intensity against the cell type: kidney tubule cells and bronchial respiratory epithelial cells are reported as high (HPA tissue IHC: High). |
| Predominantly nuclear staining, without the expected membrane or cytoplasmic pattern. | Treat an isolated nuclear pattern as inconclusive and check controls and antibody specificity (HPA tissue IHC: cytoplasmic and membranous profile). Nuclear localization is listed by UniProt, so nuclear signal alone does not prove an artefact (UniProt P35916 subcellular location). |
| Strong staining in a cell population reported as undetected, such as bone marrow hematopoietic cells. | This conflicts with that cell-specific HPA observation and warrants checks for cross-reactivity or endogenous detection activity (HPA tissue IHC: Not detected in bone marrow hematopoietic cells; standard IHC practice). It does not establish that the entire tissue is negative. |
| Diffuse chromogen across cells and extracellular areas, with little anatomical definition. | Interpret the slide cautiously: the reported tissue pattern has cellular membrane and cytoplasmic localization (HPA tissue IHC). Review blocking, antibody concentration and detection background as general IHC variables (standard IHC practice). |
| No staining in a known-positive cell population, such as kidney tubule cells. | Do not score the sample as FLT4-negative until a positive control works (HPA tissue IHC: High in kidney tubule cells; standard IHC practice). Check that the intended cells are present and review the staining workflow. |
| Membrane topology and internalization | The extracellular region spans residues 25–775 and the cytoplasmic region spans 797–1363 (UniProt P35916 topology); ligand-mediated autophosphorylation can rapidly internalize FLT4, making cytoplasmic signal biologically plausible (UniProt P35916 subcellular location). |
| Isoforms and secreted protein | FLT4 has three isoforms, and isoform 3 may be secreted (UniProt P35916 isoforms/function). Antibody epitope information is needed to determine which isoforms a stain can detect; the supplied record gives no epitope (UniProt P35916 isoforms; standard IHC interpretation). |
| Tissue and cell specificity | HPA describes cytoplasmic and membranous expression in most tissues, including endothelial cells, but its high and undetected calls apply to named cell populations (HPA tissue IHC). Choose control cells accordingly. |
| Antibody validation | HPA067906 and HPA074389 are approved for IHC; HPA074389 is supported for ICC (HPA antibodies). These statuses support their recorded applications, but do not establish identical staining or interchangeable performance for every antibody (HPA antibodies). |
| IF/ICC: what localization should be expected? | HPA reports mainly cytosolic signal, with supported plasma membrane and approved centrosome localization in ICC-IF (HPA subcellular). Use the separate IF/ICC guide for that application; the paraffin IHC pattern is reported as cytoplasmic and membranous (HPA tissue IHC). |
| Situation | Likely cause | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| No signal in the sample or its positive control. | A failed staining run is possible when a population reported as high also lacks signal (HPA tissue IHC: High in kidney tubule cells; standard IHC practice). | Confirm the positive-control cells are present, then review antigen retrieval, antibody concentration and detection steps as general paraffin IHC checks (standard IHC practice); no FLT4-specific retrieval condition is supplied. |
| Diffuse staining obscures cell boundaries. | Nonspecific binding or detection background may obscure localization (standard IHC practice); the HPA tissue profile is cellular and membranous/cytoplasmic (HPA tissue IHC). | Review blocking, washes and antibody concentration; compare a no-primary control for detection background (standard IHC practice). |
| Strong staining appears in HPA-undetected cells. | Cross-reactivity or endogenous detection activity is possible (standard IHC practice); HPA reports no detection in bone marrow hematopoietic cells and lymph-node germinal-center cells (HPA tissue IHC). | Check the exact stained cell type, inspect a no-primary control and assess another validated antibody if available (standard IHC practice; HPA antibodies: two IHC-approved entries). |
| Only nuclear staining is visible. | The pattern differs from HPA's usual tissue IHC profile, although UniProt lists nuclear localization (HPA tissue IHC; UniProt P35916 subcellular location). | Review positive and no-primary controls, then corroborate the nuclear pattern before assigning it to FLT4 (standard IHC practice). |
| Endothelial signal is weak while nearby epithelial cells stain strongly. | Intensity can differ by cell population: HPA reports high staining in several epithelial populations as well as endothelial expression (HPA tissue IHC). | Score endothelial and epithelial cells separately, using the relevant HPA cell-specific observations and an anatomically matched positive control (HPA tissue IHC; standard IHC practice). |
| An HPA-undetected cell population stains weakly or inconsistently. | HPA's undetected calls describe specific sampled cell populations, and its tissue reliability is Approved with a caveat about unannotated stained structures (HPA tissue IHC). | Verify cell identity and reproducibility, compare controls and avoid extending a cell-specific undetected call to the whole tissue (HPA tissue IHC; standard IHC practice). |
Comprehensive Human Protein Atlas IHC scoring per tissue (reliability: Approved — At least one protein variant secreted, tissue location of RNA and protein might differ and correlation is complex. Antibody staining in cells/structures not annotated, view images.). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adrenal gland | Glandular cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Appendix | Glandular cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Bronchus | Respiratory epithelial cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Cerebellum | Purkinje cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Heart muscle | Cardiomyocytes | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Tissue | Cell type | Level | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bone marrow | Hematopoietic cells | Not detected | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Endometrium | Cells in endometrial stroma | Not detected | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Liver | Cholangiocytes | Not detected | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Lymph node | Germinal center cells | Not detected | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
Troubleshoot FLT4 staining in paraffin sections by checking retrieval, compartment, cell identity and detection controls before interpreting signal intensity.
IHC-validated anti-FLT4 antibodies have paraffin-section images from human colon cancer, mouse liver, and human testis (catalog IHC captions: A01276-2, A01276-3, M01276-1); IF/ICC images show A431 cells (catalog IF captions: A01276-2, A01276-3).
A01276-2 shows IHC in human colon cancer paraffin sections and IF/ICC in A431 cells; A01276-3 shows IHC in mouse liver paraffin sections and IF/ICC in A431 cells (catalog image captions: A01276-2, A01276-3). M01276-1 shows IHC-P in human testis paraffin sections (catalog IHC caption: M01276-1).
Which to pick: For human tissue IHC, choose the mouse monoclonal M01276-1 if that host suits your detection system; its paraffin-section image uses 1:25 in human testis, with fixation unreported (catalog: M01276-1 clone 818CT12.1.1; catalog IHC caption: M01276-1). For IF/ICC, choose A01276-2 or A01276-3: both list IF and ICC and show A431 cell images (catalog applications and IF captions: A01276-2, A01276-3). For cross-species tissue IHC, A01276-3 lists human, mouse, and rat reactivity and has paraffin-section images in each species; its captions do not report fixation (catalog reactivity and IHC captions: A01276-3).