IRF7 / Interferon regulatory factor 7 · IHC design guide

Design Immunohistochemistry for IRF7

Plan IRF7 paraffin IHC around nuclear staining in most tissues and distinct expression in lymphatic organs (HPA tissue IHC). The IHC-validated antibody has a 2–5 μg/ml range and a documented spleen example (datasheet A00115-3); assess nuclear enrichment in light of activation state (UniProt).

Evidence assembled Oct 2026 · For research use; verify linked source records and product datasheet before use
Immunohistochemistry protocol sheet for IRF7 (IHC for IRF7): expected localisation Nuclear in tissue IHC (HPA tissue IHC); cytoplasm possible (UniProt), antibody A00115-3, validated IHC image, and IHC protocol steps
Printable IRF7 IHC protocol sheet — expected localisation Nuclear in tissue IHC (HPA tissue IHC); cytoplasm possible (UniProt), antibody A00115-3, controls and protocol steps. Open the full IRF7 IHC guide →

IRF7 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 Nuclear in tissue IHC (HPA tissue IHC); cytoplasm possible (UniProt)
Staining pattern Nuclear staining in most tissues, distinct in lymphatic organs (HPA tissue IHC)
Antigen retrieval EDTA pH 8.0 HIER, heat-mediated (datasheet A00115-3)
Positive control ⓘ Adipose tissue+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 sections. (standard IHC practice; not target-specific)
Caveat Resting cells may retain cytoplasmic IRF7 (UniProt)
Regulation Viral/TLR cues enrich nuclear signal (UniProt)
Isoform / epitope 4 isoforms (A–D); verify epitope coverage (UniProt)
Section 1

Recommended IRF7 IHC & IF Protocols

The catalog antibody’s IHC-P protocol (datasheet A00115-3) is accompanied by published IRF7 IHC protocols for gallbladder carcinoma, mouse striatum, and psoriatic skin (PMC6423323; PMC11759022; PMC10876010).

Recommended immunohistochemistry (IHC-P) protocol parameters
SampleParaffin-embedded human spleen tissue; fixative not specified (datasheet A00115-3)
FixationImage fixative and duration unreported (datasheet A00115-3); 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 A00115-3); 20 min, 95–100 °C (standard)
Peroxidase block3% H2O2, 10 min, room temperature (standard)
Blocking10% goat serum (datasheet A00115-3)
Primary antibodyRabbit anti-IRF7, 2-5 μg/ml (datasheet A00115-3)
Primary incubationOvernight at 4 °C (datasheet A00115-3)
DetectionHRP-conjugated secondary, DAB chromogen (datasheet A00115-3)
CounterstainHematoxylin, blue, dehydrate and mount (standard)
Expected resultIRF7-positive staining in adipocytes of adipose tissue (HPA tissue IHC: High). HPA tissue profile: Nuclear expression in most tissues, distinct expression in lymphatic organs. No signal in the no-primary control.
💡Decision noteStart with heat-mediated EDTA pH 8.0 retrieval (datasheet A00115-3); citrate pH 6.0 is a published alternative for mouse striatal sections (PMC11759022).
Section 2

What Is the Expected IRF7 Staining Pattern?

IRF7 is nuclear and cytoplasmic, with active phosphorylated IRF7 accumulating in nuclei (UniProt Q92985). Expect predominantly nuclear staining across tissues, with distinct expression in lymphatic organs (HPA tissue IHC). Bone marrow hematopoietic cells and several epithelial and other cell populations show high staining (HPA tissue IHC). IRF7 has no transmembrane segment (UniProt Q92985 topology). HPA rates its tissue IHC profile Approved, with medium consistency between staining and RNA data (HPA tissue IHC).

What am I looking at on my slide?
Nuclear signal in bone marrow hematopoietic cells, with some cytoplasmic signal.This fits high staining in those cells (HPA: bone marrow) and the reported nuclear and cytoplasmic locations (UniProt Q92985). Score nuclei and cytoplasm separately; cytoplasmic staining alone does not establish activation (UniProt Q92985 function).
Predominant staining outlines cell membranes or appears outside cells.That distribution conflicts with the reported nuclear and cytoplasmic locations and absence of a transmembrane segment (UniProt Q92985). Review morphology and background before assigning it to IRF7; compartment mismatch alone does not identify the artefact (general IHC practice).
Strong, widespread staining in prostate glandular cells.Those cells are reported at low staining level (HPA: prostate glandular cells). Compare them with an HPA high cell population on the same run; unexpected intensity can suggest cross-reactivity or endogenous detection activity, but does not prove either (general IHC practice).
Diffuse brown color spans cells and surrounding tissue without clear nuclear boundaries.The pattern is difficult to reconcile with nuclear expression in most tissues (HPA tissue IHC). Treat it as possible background; examine the counterstain, reagent controls and tissue morphology before scoring cells as positive (general IHC practice).
No staining in a section expected to contain bone marrow hematopoietic cells.HPA reports high staining in that population (HPA: bone marrow), so absence of signal calls for a run check. Confirm the cells are present and review controls and detection steps before interpreting the result as low IRF7 (general IHC practice).
💡Expected IRF7 appearanceCall a result positive when identifiable cells show predominantly nuclear staining, potentially with cytoplasmic signal, especially in HPA high populations such as bone marrow hematopoietic cells (HPA tissue IHC; UniProt Q92985); strong membrane outlines or diffuse tissue color warrant background review (UniProt Q92985 topology; general IHC practice).
How each factor affects the staining
Activation state (UniProt Q92985 function)Inactive IRF7 can reside in cytoplasm; phosphorylation promotes dimerization and nuclear accumulation (UniProt Q92985). Nuclear staining is compatible with that biology, but a routine total-IRF7 stain cannot by itself establish phosphorylation (general IHC interpretation).
Tissue and cell distribution (HPA tissue IHC)HPA describes nuclear expression in most tissues and distinct expression in lymphatic organs (HPA tissue IHC). Its listed high populations include bone marrow hematopoietic cells, bronchial respiratory epithelium and colon glandular cells (HPA tissue IHC); prostate glandular cells are low (HPA tissue IHC).
Antibody evidence (HPA antibodies; HPA tissue IHC)HPA052757 and CAB017694 are each Approved for IHC (HPA antibodies). The overall tissue profile has medium consistency between antibody staining and RNA expression (HPA tissue IHC), so an unexpected result merits validation rather than an automatic biological conclusion (general IHC practice).
Isoforms and processing (UniProt Q92985)Four isoforms, A–D, are listed (UniProt Q92985). The record identifies no signal peptide or propeptide and gives the annotated chain as residues 1–503 (UniProt Q92985). Isoform detection by a particular antibody cannot be inferred without its epitope information (general IHC interpretation).
Detection background (general chromogenic IHC practice)Endogenous enzyme activity or nonspecific reagent binding can produce color independent of the primary antibody (general chromogenic IHC practice). Interpret unexpected staining with suitable reagent controls and cell morphology; neither source establishes a target-specific background mechanism for IRF7.
ICC/IF comparison (HPA subcellular; HPA antibodies)HPA ICC/IF supports nucleoplasm as the main location and cytosol as an additional location (HPA subcellular). HPA052757 is Supported for ICC, while CAB017694 has no listed ICC status (HPA antibodies). ICC/IF localisation can inform compartment review, but does not replace section-based IHC assessment (general practice).
Why is my staining missing, weak or wrong?
SituationLikely causeNext action
High bone marrow hematopoietic cells appear unstained (HPA: bone marrow).The section may lack the expected cells, or the IHC run may have failed (general IHC practice). The supplied sources do not establish an IRF7-specific fixation sensitivity.Verify cell identity and section quality, then inspect the run's positive control and primary-antibody and detection steps (general IHC practice). Avoid changing retrieval on the assumption of a documented IRF7 fixation effect.
Signal is mainly membranous or extracellular (slide observation).This conflicts with IRF7's nuclear and cytoplasmic locations and lack of a transmembrane segment (UniProt Q92985); nonspecific staining is possible (general IHC practice).Recheck cellular boundaries and counterstain; compare the suspect pattern with a reagent control and a section showing expected nuclear staining (general IHC practice; HPA tissue IHC).
Prostate glandular cells stain as strongly as an HPA high population (HPA tissue IHC).HPA lists prostate glandular cells as low (HPA tissue IHC). Cross-reactivity or endogenous detection activity is possible, though the mismatch alone cannot distinguish them (general IHC practice).Check reagent controls and compare staining across identified cell types (general IHC practice). Record the discrepancy rather than treating prostate intensity as an established IRF7 reference (HPA tissue IHC).
Brown color is diffuse and obscures nuclei (slide observation).Diffuse color can reflect background or excessive detection signal (general chromogenic IHC practice); it cannot be scored reliably against HPA's predominantly nuclear tissue pattern (HPA tissue IHC).Inspect a no-primary control, counterstain and detection conditions, then repeat scoring only where cell boundaries and nuclei are readable (general chromogenic IHC practice).
Cytoplasmic staining appears without a clear nuclear shift (slide observation).IRF7 can be cytoplasmic, while its active phosphorylated form accumulates in nuclei (UniProt Q92985). A static total-IRF7 image does not establish the signaling state (general IHC interpretation).Report nuclear and cytoplasmic staining separately and avoid calling activation from localization alone (UniProt Q92985; general IHC interpretation).
IHC and an ICC/IF image seem to disagree on compartment (slide observation).HPA supports nucleoplasm and cytosol in ICC/IF, while tissue IHC reports nuclear expression in most tissues (HPA subcellular; HPA tissue IHC). Preparation and cell context should be reviewed before interpreting the difference (general practice).Compare identifiable compartments within each preparation and check the antibody's application status: HPA052757 is IHC Approved and ICC Supported; CAB017694 is IHC Approved with no listed ICC status (HPA antibodies).

Sample controls for IRF7 IHC & IF

🧪Run bone marrow first and assess staining in hematopoietic cells (HPA: High in bone marrow hematopoietic cells). HPA detects IRF7 in all 45 scored tissues, so use no-primary and isotype controls for the negative; any unstained cells within the positive section are background references, since no internal IRF7-negative cell population is established (HPA: no negative tissue rows).
Positive control tissue: Adipose tissue (Adipocytes, HPA High)
Negative control tissue: None in HPA: IRF7 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 IRF7 in HEK293, PC-3, U2OS, with annotated localisation: Nucleoplasm (supported) (HPA subcellular).
Technical controls: Include a no-primary, secondary-only section and a rabbit immunoglobulin isotype control matched to the primary antibody’s class and clonality where known (caption: rabbit primary antibody; standard IHC practice). Use IRF7 knockout tissue or a validated peptide block as a biological specificity control, and block endogenous peroxidase in bone marrow before HRP/DAB detection (standard IHC practice; HPA: bone marrow hematopoietic cells).
⚠️Feasibility: Paraffin-section IHC is demonstrated for human spleen using heat retrieval in EDTA at pH 8.0, but the selected A00115-3 caption does not report a fixative (caption: paraffin spleen IHC, EDTA retrieval; fixative unreported). A target-specific fixation window and whether retrieval is required are unreported; the supplied evidence also does not establish whether frozen sections or IF are easier. In bone marrow, endogenous peroxidase can produce background with HRP/DAB detection (standard IHC practice; HPA: bone marrow hematopoietic cells).

HPA tissue IHC evidence for IRF7

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
Adipose tissue Adipocytes High Protein (IHC) HPA →
Bone marrow Hematopoietic cells High Protein (IHC) HPA →
Bronchus Respiratory epithelial cells High Protein (IHC) HPA →
Cerebellum Cells in granular layer High Protein (IHC) HPA →
Cerebral cortex Glial cells High Protein (IHC) HPA →

Undetected expression · recommended negative controls

TissueCell typeLevelEvidenceSource
None in HPA: IRF7 is detected in all 45 scored tissues. Use a no-primary (secondary-only) and an isotype control instead.
Section 3

Advanced IRF7 IHC Tips

Troubleshoot IRF7 staining in paraffin sections by checking retrieval, cell compartment, assay controls and how positive cells are scored.

How should I optimize retrieval when IRF7 staining is weak?
Start with heat-mediated antigen retrieval in EDTA pH 8.0 for paraffin sections (datasheet A00115-3). The selected spleen image used this retrieval before incubation with 2 μg/ml primary antibody overnight at 4°C (datasheet A00115-3). If staining is weak, first verify that heating and cooling were consistent across sections, then compare retrieval duration on serial sections while keeping antibody incubation and detection constant (standard IHC practice). Include a same-run spleen section as a process control because the catalog antibody has documented staining there (datasheet A00115-3). If signal remains weak, an alternative retrieval buffer can be tested as an optimization; its performance for this antibody is unreported (datasheet A00115-3).
Could fixation be causing weak or uneven IRF7 staining?
The selected paraffin-section caption does not report its fixative, so IRF7 sensitivity to a particular fixation condition is unknown for this antibody (datasheet A00115-3). Record fixative, fixation duration, processing schedule and section age for each specimen before comparing staining intensity (standard IHC practice). Compare serial sections processed under different known conditions using the same EDTA pH 8.0 retrieval and primary-antibody incubation (datasheet A00115-3; standard IHC practice). Evaluate tissue preservation and counterstain alongside IRF7 signal; damaged or unevenly processed areas should be excluded from scoring (standard IHC practice). Do not assign a target-specific fixation effect from the observed compartment pattern alone (UniProt Q92985; HPA subcellular).
Is cytoplasmic IRF7 staining compatible with a valid IHC result?
IRF7 can occur in both cytoplasm and nucleus, while its phosphorylated active form accumulates selectively in the nucleus (UniProt Q92985). Supported cell-imaging locations are nucleoplasm and cytosol, and tissue IHC shows nuclear expression in most tissues with distinct expression in lymphatic organs (HPA subcellular; HPA tissue IHC). Score nuclear and cytoplasmic staining separately in intact cells, using the counterstain to define nuclei (standard IHC practice). A cytoplasmic signal can therefore be plausible, but diffuse staining outside recognizable cells needs scrutiny against the negative control (UniProt Q92985; standard IHC practice). Nuclear staining alone does not establish phosphorylation or transcriptional activity without an independent functional readout (UniProt Q92985).
Could isoform choice or epitope accessibility explain inconsistent staining?
IRF7 has 4 annotated isoforms, A through D, and the supplied record does not locate the catalog antibody’s epitope (UniProt Q92985; datasheet A00115-3). An apparent difference between specimens therefore cannot be assigned to a particular isoform from this IHC result alone (UniProt Q92985; datasheet A00115-3). The record also lists acetylation and phosphorylation, including phosphoserines at residues 471, 472, 475 and 477; whether these affect antibody binding is unreported (UniProt Q92985; datasheet A00115-3). Compare retrieval and staining on adjacent sections, and check epitope documentation before interpreting divergent patterns (standard IHC practice). Treat any proposed isoform or modification-specific interpretation as a hypothesis requiring an epitope-defined reagent (standard IHC practice).
How can IF help resolve which cells carry the IHC signal?
Use IF/ICC as a separate corroborating assay and multiplex IRF7 with a marker for the cell population implicated by the IHC section (standard IF practice). For example, hematopoietic cells in bone marrow are reported as high for IRF7, providing a documented population to examine when that tissue is used (HPA tissue IHC). Choose a fluorophore channel after checking the specimen’s autofluorescence and include single-channel controls to assess bleed-through (standard IF practice). IRF7 has no transmembrane segment and is reported in nucleoplasm and cytosol, so permeabilisation should allow access to intracellular epitopes while preserving compartment boundaries (UniProt Q92985; HPA subcellular; standard IF practice). Compare nuclear and cytosolic signal with the corresponding IHC pattern without assuming that the IHC caption establishes IF conditions (datasheet A00115-3; standard IF practice).
What should I check when DAB background obscures IRF7?
The selected paraffin-section method used 10% goat-serum block, peroxidase-conjugated anti-rabbit secondary and DAB development (datasheet A00115-3). Check a section lacking primary antibody, block endogenous peroxidase, and inspect whether diffuse DAB persists after adequate washing (standard chromogenic IHC practice). If background follows tissue edges or damaged areas, compare intact interior regions before changing antibody concentration (standard IHC practice). Keep the documented 2 μg/ml primary incubation overnight at 4°C as a reference while adjusting one variable at a time (datasheet A00115-3; standard IHC practice). Distinguish discrete cellular staining from precipitate by reviewing the same area at higher magnification with its counterstain (standard IHC practice).
How should I quantify IRF7 across paraffin sections? ⚠ ANSWER MARKED FOR VERIFICATION
Define the tissue compartment and cell population before scoring, then report nuclear and cytoplasmic IRF7 separately (UniProt Q92985; standard IHC practice). For intensity-based assessment, an H-score combines the percentage of cells in each staining-intensity category; also report the percentage of positive cells and the scoring threshold (standard IHC practice). For spatial comparisons, count positive cells per mm² of viable tissue and normalize to the number of evaluable cells or the sampled compartment area (standard IHC practice). Use identical retrieval, detection, imaging and threshold settings across the comparison set (standard IHC practice). Annotate lymphatic regions when relevant because tissue IHC describes distinct expression in lymphatic organs (HPA tissue IHC).
How do I distinguish meaningful IRF7 staining from artefact?
Look for cellular signal in anatomically credible regions, with nuclear staining supported by tissue IHC and both nuclear and cytoplasmic locations supported by the protein record (HPA tissue IHC; UniProt Q92985). Interpret the stained cell population against the section’s morphology; reported high-staining examples include hematopoietic cells in bone marrow and respiratory epithelial cells in bronchus (HPA tissue IHC). Exclude staining confined to cut edges, necrotic regions or areas with poor morphology, and compare with a no-primary control for endogenous enzyme signal (standard chromogenic IHC practice). The tissue IHC evidence has approved reliability with medium consistency against RNA expression, so an unexpected pattern deserves orthogonal checking (HPA tissue IHC). Nuclear enrichment is compatible with active IRF7 biology but does not by itself prove phosphorylation or downstream interferon transcription (UniProt Q92985).
Boster reagents

Best IRF7 / Interferon regulatory factor 7 IHC Antibodies

Both anti-IRF7 antibodies have human paraffin-section IHC images (catalog image captions); M00115 also lists ICC/IF and mouse and rat reactivity (catalog applications/reactivity).

Real IHC data IHC analysis of IRF7 using anti-IRF7 antibody (A00115-3). IRF7 was detected in a paraffin-embedded section of human spleen 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 2 μg/ml rabbit anti-IRF7 Antibody (A00115-3) 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-IRF7 Antibody ®
Cat # A00115-3
Real IHC data Immunohistochemical analysis of paraffin-embedded human pancreas, using IRF7 Antibody.
Anti-IRF7 Rabbit Monoclonal Antibody
Cat # M00115

A00115-3 lists human IHC and shows staining in a paraffin-embedded human spleen section (A00115-3 catalog applications/reactivity and image caption). M00115 lists human, mouse and rat IHC and ICC/IF; its IHC image shows a paraffin-embedded human pancreas section (M00115 catalog applications/reactivity and image caption).

Which to pick: Choose A00115-3 for human tissue IHC when its documented processing is useful: EDTA retrieval at pH 8.0, 10% goat serum blocking, and 2 μg/ml primary antibody overnight at 4°C (A00115-3 image caption). Choose the rabbit monoclonal M00115 for ICC/IF or mouse and rat reactivity; its listed IHC and IF dilutions are each 1:50, while its own IHC image documents only a paraffin-embedded human pancreas section (M00115 catalog host/clone, applications/reactivity, dilution fields and image caption). The fixative is unreported for both illustrated sections (A00115-3 and M00115 image captions).

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

References

  1. UniProt Consortium. UniProt entry Q92985 (IRF7_HUMAN, Interferon regulatory factor 7).
  2. Human Protein Atlas. IRF7 tissue IHC expression (reliability: Approved).
  3. Human Protein Atlas. IRF7 subcellular location (ICC-IF): Mainly localized to the nucleoplasm. In addition localized to the cytosol..
  4. Human Protein Atlas. IRF7 antibody validation summary (2 antibodies).
  5. Profiling of gallbladder carcinoma reveals distinct miRNA profiles and activation of STAT1 by the tumor suppressive miRNA-145-5p. Scientific reports 2019 — PMC6423323.
  6. The cGAS-STING-interferon regulatory factor 7 pathway regulates neuroinflammation in Parkinson's disease. Neural regeneration research 2025 — PMC11759022.
  7. Transcription Factor IRF7 is Involved in Psoriasis Development and Response to Guselkumab Treatment. Journal of inflammation research 2024 — PMC10876010.
  8. Fibroblast IRF7-mediated chondrocyte apoptosis affects the progression of collapse in steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head. Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research 2025 — PMC11921700.
  9. PubMed PMID:9315633 — UniProt-cited evidence.
  10. PubMed PMID:9786932 — UniProt-cited evidence.
  11. PubMed PMID:15489334 — UniProt-cited evidence.