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MAP2K7 / Dual specificity mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 7 · IHC design guide
Design Immunohistochemistry for MAP2K7
Plan MAP2K7 chromogenic IHC in paraffin sections using the observed variable cytoplasmic tissue pattern and high spermatogonial staining as references (HPA tissue IHC). The guide covers fixation consistency, antibody dilution and interpretation alongside the four annotated isoforms (datasheet: PB9764; UniProt).
Evidence assembled Oct 2026 · For research use; verify linked source records and product datasheet before use
MAP2K7 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 | Cytoplasm in tissue; nucleus also annotated (HPA tissue IHC; UniProt) | |
| Staining pattern | High in spermatogonia; variable cytoplasmic staining in most tissues (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Antigen retrieval | EDTA pH 8.0 HIER, heat-mediated (datasheet PB9764) | |
| Positive control | Testis+4 more · see all | |
| Negative control | Caudate+2 more · see all |
Important caveats
Reasons your staining may differ from the expected pattern.
| Fixation | Matched tissue-IHC evidence does not establish the fixation claim. Validate the specimen-specific method before use. (selected-SKU IHC image PB9764) | |
| Caveat | Skeletal myocytes may lack detectable staining (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Regulation | Expression changes are unreported (UniProt) | |
| Isoform / epitope | Four isoforms; antibody epitope coverage is unspecified (UniProt) |
Section 1
Recommended MAP2K7 IHC & IF Protocols
The catalog antibody’s IHC-P protocol (datasheet: PB9764) is accompanied by one published MAP2K7 tissue staining protocol (PMC4863692).
| Sample | Paraffin-embedded human testicular cancer tissue; fixative not specified (datasheet PB9764) |
| Fixation | Image fixative and duration unreported (datasheet PB9764); 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 PB9764); 20 min, 95–100 °C (standard) |
| Peroxidase block | 3% H2O2, 10 min, room temperature (standard) |
| Blocking | 10% goat serum (datasheet PB9764) |
| Primary antibody | Rabbit anti-MAP2K7, 1-2μg/ml (datasheet PB9764) |
| Primary incubation | Overnight at 4 °C (datasheet PB9764) |
| Detection | Streptavidin-biotin complex (SABC), DAB chromogen (datasheet PB9764) |
| Counterstain | Hematoxylin, blue, dehydrate and mount (standard) |
| Expected result | MAP2K7-positive staining in spermatogonia cells of testis (HPA tissue IHC: High). HPA tissue profile: Cytoplasmic expression in most tissues at variable levels. No signal in the no-primary control. |
💡Decision noteStart with heat-mediated EDTA retrieval at pH 8.0 for the catalog antibody (datasheet: PB9764); the published protocol used citrate at pH 6.0 (PMC4863692).
Section 2
What Is the Expected MAP2K7 Staining Pattern?
MAP2K7 is expected mainly in the cytoplasm across many tissues, with variable staining intensity (HPA tissue IHC: Supported; medium consistency with RNA). Testis spermatogonia show high staining; several epithelial and hematopoietic populations show medium staining (HPA tissue IHC). UniProt also lists nuclear localization, while its topology shows no transmembrane segment (UniProt O14733: subcellular location and topology). Interpret the compartment and the stained cell type together.
| Cytoplasmic staining in spermatogonia; weaker staining in other listed cell populations. | This matches the observed pattern: high in testis spermatogonia and medium in appendix lymphoid tissue, bone marrow hematopoietic cells, and several epithelial populations (HPA tissue IHC). Score the named cells separately from neighboring cells (general IHC practice). |
| Predominantly nuclear staining with little cytoplasmic signal. | Check the result against the expected cytoplasmic tissue pattern (HPA tissue IHC). Nuclear localization is listed by UniProt, so nuclear signal alone is not proof of an artefact (UniProt O14733: subcellular location). Review controls before assigning it to MAP2K7 (general IHC practice). |
| Strong staining in oral mucosa squamous cells, caudate glia, or skeletal muscle myocytes. | Those specific cell populations were not detected in the supplied tissue observations (HPA tissue IHC). Confirm their identity and inspect controls; unexpected staining may reflect cross-reactivity or detection background (general IHC practice). A tissue-wide label cannot substitute for a cell-specific comparison. |
| Diffuse color across tissue, extracellular spaces, or the negative control. | A non-cellular or control-matched pattern does not establish MAP2K7 localization (general IHC practice). Check blocking, washes, chromogen development, and endogenous detection activity before interpreting stained cells (general IHC practice). |
| No signal in testis spermatogonia. | This conflicts with the reported high staining in that cell population (HPA tissue IHC). First verify that spermatogonia are present in the examined section; then review antibody, detection, and run controls (general IHC practice). A blank slide alone cannot establish biological absence. |
💡Expected MAP2K7 appearanceCall positive when cell-associated cytoplasmic staining is high in testis spermatogonia or matches the listed medium-staining populations (HPA tissue IHC); diffuse control-matched color is a false-positive warning (general IHC practice).
| Cell and tissue context | Compare like cells: HPA reports high staining in spermatogonia, medium staining in selected lymphoid, hematopoietic, myoepithelial, respiratory epithelial, and glandular cells, and variable cytoplasmic expression overall (HPA tissue IHC). |
| RNA and protein agreement | The tissue IHC assessment is Supported, with medium consistency between antibody staining and RNA expression (HPA tissue IHC). Treat an isolated unexpected result as a prompt for controls, rather than as a new reference pattern (general IHC practice). |
| Skeletal muscle discrepancy | UniProt describes highest overall expression in skeletal muscle, whereas HPA reports no staining in skeletal muscle myocytes (UniProt O14733: tissue specificity; HPA tissue IHC: myocytes not detected). Keep those distinct observations visible when choosing a control. |
| Isoforms and antibody recognition | Four isoforms are listed, and isoform 3 is low in placenta, fetal liver, and skeletal muscle (UniProt O14733: isoforms and tissue specificity). The supplied evidence does not map an antibody epitope to an isoform; do not infer isoform-specific IHC staining. |
| Topology and processing | MAP2K7 has no transmembrane segment or signal peptide and has a listed chain spanning residues 2–419 (UniProt O14733: topology and processing). These facts support caution about assigning extracellular color to the target; they do not establish an antigen retrieval condition. |
| Antibody validation | The supplied IHC status is Supported for HPA001633 and CAB004262 (HPA antibodies). That status supports use of their reported patterns as comparisons; it does not show that every antibody or every specimen yields the same intensity. |
| IF/ICC Q&A: Should membrane signal define a positive IHC result? | No. HPA places IF/ICC signal in cytosol and plasma membrane, both uncertain, while tissue IHC describes cytoplasmic staining (HPA subcellular ICC-IF; HPA tissue IHC). Assess IHC against its tissue pattern and controls (general IHC practice). |
| Situation | Likely cause | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| Expected spermatogonia are blank while the rest of the slide is readable. | The reported high-staining cell population may be absent from the section, or the assay may have missed it (HPA tissue IHC: high in spermatogonia; general IHC practice). | Confirm cell identity on the counterstain; compare an appropriate positive section and the run controls before changing conditions (general IHC practice). |
| Color appears in a negative control or broadly between cells. | Background from detection chemistry or insufficient blocking or washing can mimic cell staining (general IHC practice). | Review the negative control, endogenous activity blocking, washes, and chromogen development; accept only a cell-associated pattern that separates from background (general IHC practice). |
| Staining is mainly nuclear. | It differs from the observed cytoplasmic tissue profile, although UniProt also lists the nucleus (HPA tissue IHC; UniProt O14733: subcellular location). | Check section morphology and controls, then compare the same cell type with the HPA tissue pattern before scoring nuclear signal as target-specific (general IHC practice). |
| Skeletal muscle myocytes stain strongly. | This conflicts with the supplied myocyte IHC observation despite UniProt's broader skeletal muscle expression statement (HPA tissue IHC: myocytes not detected; UniProt O14733: tissue specificity). | Recheck cell identification and control staining; report the discrepancy at cell level instead of treating skeletal muscle as an assured IHC positive control (general IHC practice). |
| A listed medium-staining population appears weak or patchy. | Intensity varies across tissues, and the IHC-to-RNA consistency is medium (HPA tissue IHC: profile and reliability). Technical variation can also affect a run (general IHC practice). | Compare the same cell type across sections, inspect run controls, and adjust scoring thresholds only with consistent control performance (general IHC practice). |
| Signal is weak in the positive comparison section. | Antibody dilution, retrieval, or detection conditions can limit IHC signal (general IHC practice); the supplied sources give no MAP2K7-specific fixation or retrieval effect. | Verify the antibody's IHC instructions and run controls, then optimize one general IHC condition at a time; do not claim a MAP2K7-specific retrieval requirement from these sources (general IHC practice). |
Experiment evidence
IHC & IF images showing MAP2K7 staining
PB9764 · IHCIHC analysis of MEK7/MAP2K7 using anti-MEK7/MAP2K7 antibody (PB9764). MEK7/MAP2K7 was detected in a paraffin-embedded section of human testi
PB9764 · IFIF analysis of MEK7/MAP2K7 using anti-MEK7/MAP2K7 antibody (PB9764). MEK7/MAP2K7 was detected in an immunocytochemical section of PC-3 cells
A02713S271-1 · IHCImmunohistochemistry analysis of paraffin-embedded human brain, using MAP2K7 (Phospho-Ser271) Antibody. The picture on the right is blocked
HPA · Cerebral cortexHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Cerebral cortex. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000076984-MAP2K7/tissue/cerebral+cortex#imid_1386388
HPA · ColonHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Colon. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000076984-MAP2K7/tissue/colon#imid_1386298
HPA · LiverHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Liver. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000076984-MAP2K7/tissue/liver#imid_1386307
HPA · KidneyHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Kidney. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000076984-MAP2K7/tissue/kidney#imid_1386316
HPA · ICC-IF HEK293Human Protein Atlas immunofluorescence, HEK293, antibody HPA064711; green = MAP2K7, blue = nucleus, red = microtubules.
HPA · ICC-IF HEK293Human Protein Atlas immunofluorescence, HEK293, antibody HPA064711; green = MAP2K7, blue = nucleus, red = microtubules.
← swipe / scroll for more images →
Real IHC / IF data behind the staining-pattern expectations in this section.
Sample controls for MAP2K7 IHC & IF
🧪Run testis first; spermatogonia should stain strongly (HPA: High in testis spermatogonia). Use oral mucosa squamous epithelium as the negative tissue (HPA: Not detected); on the testis slide, cells without specific staining provide an internal background reference, but their MAP2K7-negative status is not established by the supplied data (HPA: spermatogonia High).
Positive control tissue: Testis (Spermatogonia cells, HPA High)
Negative control tissue: Caudate (HPA Not detected)
ICC-IF cell lines (HPA subcellular resource): HPA ICC-IF images show MAP2K7 in HEK293, PC-3, RPTEC/TERT1, hTERT-RPE1 (serum starved), with annotated localisation: Plasma membrane (uncertain), Cytosol (uncertain) (HPA subcellular).
Technical controls: Include a no-primary (secondary-only) control, a host-matched rabbit IgG isotype control appropriate to the primary antibody, and MAP2K7 knockout material or peptide competition if a suitable peptide is available (caption: rabbit primary; standard IHC practice). In testis, check endogenous peroxidase and biotin background before interpreting the biotin-based DAB signal (caption: biotinylated secondary, SABC and DAB; standard IHC practice).
⚠️Feasibility: A target-specific fixation window or fixation effect is unreported, and the selected PB9764 paraffin-section caption does not state a fixative (caption: fixative not stated). That caption reports heat retrieval in EDTA at pH 8.0, so use it as the starting retrieval condition and optimize against controls (caption: EDTA pH 8.0; standard IHC practice). The supplied evidence does not establish that frozen sections or IF are easier, or identify a testis-specific artefact; assess background in the testis control slide (supplied IHC caption; standard IHC practice).
HPA tissue IHC evidence for MAP2K7
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
| Tissue | Cell type | Level | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Testis | Spermatogonia cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Appendix | Lymphoid tissue | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Bone marrow | Hematopoietic cells | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Breast | Myoepithelial cells | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Bronchus | Respiratory epithelial cells | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
Section 3
Advanced MAP2K7 IHC Tips
Troubleshoot MAP2K7 staining in paraffin sections by checking retrieval, compartment, cell type and controls before interpreting chromogenic signal.
How should I retrieve MAP2K7 when staining paraffin sections?
Start with heat-mediated antigen retrieval in EDTA at pH 8.0 (datasheet PB9764). The catalog antibody detected MAP2K7 in a paraffin-embedded human testicular cancer section after this retrieval, followed by 2 μg/ml primary antibody overnight at 4°C (datasheet PB9764). If staining is weak, compare retrieval duration on adjacent sections while holding antibody concentration and detection constant; check tissue integrity after heating (standard IHC practice). Include a retrieval-matched negative control and a section with expected staining, such as testis spermatogonia, to distinguish poor epitope access from a failed detection run (HPA: High in testis spermatogonia; standard IHC practice).
Could fixation explain weak or uneven MAP2K7 staining?
MAP2K7-specific fixation sensitivity is unknown because the selected paraffin-section caption does not state a fixative (datasheet PB9764). Record the actual fixative, fixation duration and processing history for each specimen before comparing staining across batches (standard IHC practice). If signal varies, stain adjacent sections together using EDTA retrieval at pH 8.0 and the same 2 μg/ml primary concentration, then compare preserved tissue areas (datasheet PB9764; standard IHC practice). Evaluate weak signal alongside morphology and controls; differences alone cannot establish a MAP2K7-specific fixation effect, and HPA staining patterns do not measure fixation sensitivity (standard IHC practice; HPA: tissue IHC profile).
Is nuclear or membrane staining consistent with MAP2K7 localisation?
Assess MAP2K7 staining by compartment before scoring intensity: UniProt lists nucleus and cytoplasm, while HPA tissue IHC describes mainly cytoplasmic expression (UniProt O14733 localisation; HPA: tissue IHC profile). MAP2K7 has no transmembrane segment, so a continuous membrane rim in chromogenic sections needs independent validation; HPA reports uncertain plasma-membrane and cytosol localisation in ICC/IF (UniProt O14733 topology; HPA: subcellular localisation). Compare the disputed pattern with nearby intact cells and a negative control, using the same counterstain and illumination settings (standard IHC practice). Score nuclear and cytoplasmic signal separately when both occur, rather than treating every dark compartment as equivalent MAP2K7 evidence (standard IHC practice).
Can this antibody distinguish MAP2K7 isoforms or phosphorylation states in tissue?
Do not assign an isoform from chromogenic staining unless the antibody’s epitope and isoform coverage are established; MAP2K7 has 4 reported isoforms (UniProt O14733 isoforms; standard IHC practice). The supplied caption documents tissue staining but gives no epitope sequence or phospho-specific validation for PB9764 (datasheet PB9764). MAP2K7 includes a kinase domain at residues 120–380 and reported phosphorylation at residues 271, 275 and 411; those facts do not make total staining a phosphorylation readout (UniProt O14733 domains and modified residues). If the experimental question concerns a particular isoform or activation state, establish antibody specificity with appropriate orthogonal controls before interpreting cell-level differences (standard IHC practice).
How should I check MAP2K7 by multiplex IF alongside chromogenic IHC?
Use a separately validated marker of the expected cell type alongside MAP2K7; testis spermatogonia provide a documented high-staining cell population for comparison (HPA: High in testis spermatogonia; standard IF practice). Choose a MAP2K7 fluorophore channel with low background after inspecting unstained tissue autofluorescence, and include single-label controls for bleed-through (standard IF practice). For an intracellular epitope, optimise gentle permeabilisation because UniProt lists nuclear and cytoplasmic MAP2K7; a membrane-facing epitope would require different access conditions once its location is established (UniProt O14733 localisation; standard IF practice). Evaluate colocalisation at the cell level and confirm unexpected membrane signal independently, since HPA’s plasma-membrane assignment is uncertain (HPA: subcellular localisation; standard IF practice).
What should I check when DAB background obscures MAP2K7 staining?
First inspect a no-primary control and morphology-matched areas to locate nonspecific signal in the chromogenic workflow (standard IHC practice). The documented PB9764 procedure used 10% goat serum blocking, 2 μg/ml primary overnight at 4°C, biotinylated secondary for 30 minutes at 37°C, and streptavidin-biotin detection with DAB (datasheet PB9764). When background persists, check endogenous peroxidase blocking and, for biotin-based detection, endogenous biotin; adjust blocking, antibody concentration or wash stringency one variable at a time (standard IHC practice). Compare residual staining with expected cytoplasmic MAP2K7 distribution before calling diffuse pigment a positive result (HPA: tissue IHC profile; standard IHC practice).
How should I quantify MAP2K7 across sections with different cell mixtures? ⚠ ANSWER MARKED FOR VERIFICATION
Define the cell population and compartment before measuring MAP2K7, because HPA reports variable cytoplasmic staining across tissues and cell types (HPA: tissue IHC profile). For a defined population, report the percentage of positive cells and an H-score that combines staining intensity with the fraction of cells at each intensity (standard IHC practice). If the question concerns scattered positive cells, report density per mm² of viable tissue or of the annotated compartment, and state which denominator you used (standard IHC practice). Keep retrieval, DAB development and image thresholds consistent across compared sections, then normalise to the relevant counted cells or tissue area rather than the entire mixed section (standard IHC practice).
How can I distinguish convincing MAP2K7 staining from section artefacts?
A plausible positive pattern includes cytoplasmic staining in an anatomically appropriate cell population, such as testis spermatogonia, while nuclear staining also remains biologically possible (HPA: High in testis spermatogonia and cytoplasmic tissue profile; UniProt O14733 localisation). Treat signal confined to cut edges, necrotic regions or endogenous-enzyme-rich areas cautiously and compare it with no-primary and peroxidase-block controls (standard IHC practice). A uniform membrane rim warrants extra validation because MAP2K7 has no transmembrane segment and HPA labels its plasma-membrane localisation uncertain (UniProt O14733 topology; HPA: subcellular localisation). Repeat disputed staining on an adjacent section and compare the pattern with preserved morphology and expected cells before scoring it as MAP2K7 (standard IHC practice).
Boster reagents
Best MAP2K7 / Dual specificity mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 7 IHC Antibodies
IHC data show MAP2K7 staining in paraffin sections of human testicular cancer and brain; IF data show staining in PC-3 cells (PB9764 and A02713S271-1 image captions).
Real IHC data
Anti-MEK7/MAP2K7 Antibody ®
Cat # PB9764
Real IHC data
Anti-Phospho-MEK-7 (S271) MAP2K7 Antibody
Cat # A02713S271-1
PB9764 has human testicular cancer paraffin-section IHC data and PC-3 cell IF data (PB9764 image captions). A02713S271-1 has human brain paraffin-section IHC data with phospho-peptide blocking (A02713S271-1 IHC image caption).
Which to pick: For tissue IHC, choose PB9764 for MAP2K7 in human testicular cancer sections (PB9764 IHC image caption), or A02713S271-1 when the target is phosphorylated Ser271 in human brain sections (A02713S271-1 title and IHC image caption); neither caption reports the fixative. For IF/ICC, PB9764 has a PC-3 cell IF example (PB9764 IF image caption). For cross-species planning, PB9764 lists human, monkey, mouse and rat reactivity, while A02713S271-1 lists human, mouse and rat; their illustrated IHC examples are human only (catalog reactivity; PB9764 and A02713S271-1 IHC image captions).
Each figure is that product's own IHC / IF validation image from its datasheet.
References
- UniProt Consortium. UniProt entry O14733 (MP2K7_HUMAN, Dual specificity mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 7).
- Human Protein Atlas. MAP2K7 tissue IHC expression (reliability: Supported).
- Human Protein Atlas. MAP2K7 subcellular location (ICC-IF): Localized to the plasma membrane and cytosol..
- Human Protein Atlas. MAP2K7 antibody validation summary (3 antibodies).
- miR-125b inhibited epithelial-mesenchymal transition of triple-negative breast cancer by targeting MAP2K7. OncoTargets and therapy 2016 — PMC4863692.
- LncRNA PCED1B-AS1 mediates miR-3681-3p/MAP2K7 axis to promote metastasis, invasion and EMT in gastric cancer. Biology direct 2024 — PMC11064384.
- Inhibition of the MAP2K7-JNK pathway with 5Z-7-oxozeaenol induces apoptosis in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Oncotarget 2021 — PMC8416565.
- PubMed PMID:9372971 — UniProt-cited evidence.
- PubMed PMID:9312068 — UniProt-cited evidence.
- PubMed PMID:9535930 — UniProt-cited evidence.
Immunohistochemistry protocol sheet for MAP2K7 (Dual specificity mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 7). Expected localisation Cytoplasm in tissue; nucleus also annotated (HPA tissue IHC; UniProt). Antigen retrieval: EDTA pH 8.0 HIER, heat-mediated (datasheet PB9764). Validated IHC antibody: PB9764 at 1-2μg/ml (the product's own IHC validation image is shown). Controls (HPA): positive Testis (Spermatogonia cells); negative Caudate. IHC-P workflow on paraffin sections; fixative unspecified. Protocol steps: 1. Sample: Paraffin-embedded human testicular cancer tissue; fixative not specified (datasheet PB9764); 2. Fixation: Image fixative and duration unreported (datasheet PB9764); verify before use.; 3. Sectioning: 4–5 µm sections on charged slides (standard); 4. Deparaffinisation: Xylene, graded ethanol series to water (standard); 5. Antigen retrieval: Heat retrieval: EDTA pH 8.0 (datasheet PB9764); 20 min, 95–100 °C (standard); 6. Peroxidase block: 3% H2O2, 10 min , room temperature (standard); 7. Blocking: 10% goat serum (datasheet PB9764); 8. Primary antibody: Rabbit anti-MAP2K7, 1-2μg/ml (datasheet PB9764); 9. Primary incubation: Overnight at 4 °C (datasheet PB9764). Watch for: Fixation: Matched tissue-IHC evidence does not establish the fixation claim. Validate the specimen-specific method before use. (selected-SKU IHC image PB9764); Caveat: Skeletal myocytes may lack detectable staining (HPA tissue IHC); Isoform / epitope: Four isoforms; antibody epitope coverage is unspecified (UniProt); Regulation: Expression changes are unreported (UniProt). Evidence: UniProt O14733, HPA tissue IHC · Supported, HPA ICC-IF · plasma membrane and cytosol., Datasheet PB9764, PMC4863692. QR code links to https://www.bosterbio.com/bosterbio-gene-info-cards/MAP2K7/immunohistochemistry-ihc-guide.