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MAVS / Mitochondrial antiviral-signaling protein · IHC design guide
Design Immunohistochemistry for MAVS
Plan paraffin-section MAVS IHC using the granular cytoplasmic tissue pattern (HPA tissue IHC) and mitochondrial outer-membrane localization (UniProt). Start the catalog antibody at 0.5–1 μg/mL (datasheet A00169-1) and score staining by cell type and cytoplasmic pattern (HPA tissue IHC).
Evidence assembled Oct 2026 · For research use; verify linked source records and product datasheet before use
MAVS 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 | Granular cytoplasm (HPA tissue IHC); mitochondrial outer membrane (UniProt) | |
| Staining pattern | Granular cytoplasmic staining in most tissues (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Antigen retrieval | Citrate pH 6 HIER, heat-mediated (datasheet A00169-1) | |
| Positive control | Adrenal gland+4 more · see all | |
| Negative control | None in HPA (detected in all 44 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 | Peroxisomal MAVS complicates assigning granules to mitochondria (UniProt) | |
| Regulation | NDFIP1/SMURF1 promote MAVS degradation (UniProt) | |
| Isoform / epitope | 6 isoforms; no extracellular domain; check epitope coverage (UniProt) |
Section 1
Recommended MAVS IHC & IF Protocols
Compare the catalog antibody’s IHC-P protocol (datasheet: A00169-1) with the published tissue microarray protocol (PMC10468804).
| Sample | Paraffin-embedded human mammary cancer tissue; fixative not specified (datasheet A00169-1) |
| Fixation | Image fixative and duration unreported (datasheet A00169-1); verify before use. |
| Sectioning | 4–5 µm sections on charged slides (standard) |
| Deparaffinisation | Xylene, graded ethanol series to water (standard) |
| Antigen retrieval | Heat retrieval: Citrate pH 6, 20 min (datasheet A00169-1) |
| Peroxidase block | 3% H2O2, 10 min, room temperature (standard) |
| Blocking | 10% goat serum (datasheet A00169-1) |
| Primary antibody | Rabbit anti-MAVS, 0.5-1μg/ml (datasheet A00169-1) |
| Primary incubation | Overnight at 4 °C (datasheet A00169-1) |
| Detection | Streptavidin-biotin complex (SABC), DAB chromogen (datasheet A00169-1) |
| Counterstain | Hematoxylin, blue, dehydrate and mount (standard) |
| Expected result | MAVS-positive staining in glandular cells of adrenal gland (HPA tissue IHC: High). HPA tissue profile: Granular cytoplasmic expression in most tissues. No signal in the no-primary control. |
💡Decision noteStart with citrate pH 6 heat retrieval (datasheet: A00169-1); the published protocol used 95–98°C for 20 min (PMC10468804).
Section 2
What Is the Expected MAVS Staining Pattern?
MAVS is anchored to the mitochondrial outer membrane, with its large N-terminal region facing the cytoplasm; UniProt also lists peroxisomes (UniProt Q7Z434 topology; subcellular location). In paraffin-section IHC, expect granular cytoplasmic staining across many tissues, including epithelial and hematopoietic cells (HPA tissue IHC: Enhanced reliability; granular cytoplasmic expression in most tissues). The tissue pattern is supported by agreement between antibody staining and RNA expression (HPA tissue IHC: reliability description).
| Granular cytoplasmic stain in bronchial respiratory epithelium or bone-marrow hematopoietic cells. | This matches HPA's High staining calls for those cell types and its overall granular cytoplasmic profile (HPA tissue IHC). Judge the relevant cells and compartment together; a high tissue call alone does not establish that every cell in a section must stain equally. |
| Predominantly nuclear or sharply cell-surface staining, without convincing cytoplasmic granules. | That distribution conflicts with the reported mitochondrial outer-membrane location and HPA tissue pattern (UniProt Q7Z434 subcellular location; HPA tissue IHC: granular cytoplasmic). Consider nonspecific staining or a detection artefact before calling it MAVS. Routine chromogenic IHC cannot resolve an individual mitochondrial membrane. |
| Strong stain appears in an unexpected cell population while the expected population is weak. | HPA reports broad expression, so an unlisted population is not automatically negative (HPA tissue IHC: low tissue specificity). Compare cell identity and compartment with a validated positive section; disproportionate staining may reflect antibody cross-reactivity or endogenous detection activity (general IHC practice). |
| Diffuse haze covers cells, stroma, and tissue-free areas rather than outlining cytoplasmic granules. | A field-wide deposit does not fit HPA's granular cytoplasmic profile (HPA tissue IHC). Treat it as background until controls clarify whether primary-antibody binding, secondary detection, or chromogen deposition contributes (general IHC practice). Do not score the haze as MAVS-positive cells. |
| Little or no cytoplasmic stain appears in a well-preserved bronchus positive-control section. | Bronchial respiratory epithelial cells are reported High by HPA (HPA tissue IHC: bronchus). An absent result warrants a run-level check before interpreting the study tissue as negative. The HPA designation predicts a useful comparator, not guaranteed staining with every antibody and workflow. |
💡Expected MAVS appearanceCall a positive result when the appropriate cells show distinct granular cytoplasmic signal, potentially High in bronchial epithelium or marrow hematopoietic cells; isolated nuclear signal or diffuse field-wide color is suspect (HPA tissue IHC; UniProt Q7Z434 subcellular location).
| Cellular compartment and membrane topology | MAVS has a C-terminal transmembrane segment at residues 514–534 and a cytoplasm-facing region at 2–513 (UniProt Q7Z434 topology). Interpret routine IHC at the cytoplasmic-pattern level; apparent nuclear restriction needs investigation. |
| Choice of positive and lower-signal comparators | HPA calls bronchial respiratory epithelial cells and marrow hematopoietic cells High, while soft-tissue chondrocytes are listed as low (HPA tissue IHC). Low is a relative staining observation, not proof of a true negative. |
| Antibody-level evidence | The listed antibodies have different IHC validation statuses: HPA049850 and HPA053524 are Enhanced; CAB009187 is Supported (HPA antibodies). Apply the status to the specific antibody used; HPA's Enhanced tissue-profile reliability does not validate every reagent. |
| Isoforms and unknown antibody epitope | UniProt lists 6 MAVS isoforms (UniProt Q7Z434 isoforms). The payload gives no epitope for the catalog antibody, so it cannot establish which isoforms that antibody detects or predict an isoform-specific IHC pattern. |
| Antigen retrieval | Retrieval conditions can affect paraffin-section IHC in general (general IHC practice). The supplied UniProt and HPA records provide no MAVS-specific retrieval condition or fixation-sensitivity result; choose conditions from the antibody's documented IHC method and verify them with controls. |
| Situation | Likely cause | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| The positive-control bronchus is blank. | The run may have failed, or the antibody and retrieval conditions may be unsuitable (general IHC practice); HPA reports bronchial respiratory epithelial cells as High (HPA tissue IHC). | Check section integrity, primary-antibody application, retrieval, detection reagents, and a concurrent control before interpreting study sections (general IHC practice). |
| Nuclei stain strongly, but cytoplasmic granules do not. | A nuclear-dominant pattern conflicts with mitochondrial localization and granular cytoplasmic tissue staining (UniProt Q7Z434 subcellular location; HPA tissue IHC). | Review the primary-omission control and antibody-specific validation, then reassess the signal with a known-positive tissue (general IHC practice; HPA antibodies). |
| Unexpected cells show strong chromogen. | Broad MAVS expression makes cell identity alone inconclusive (HPA tissue IHC: low tissue specificity); cross-reactivity or endogenous detection activity is also possible (general IHC practice). | Check cytoplasmic granularity, compare HPA-listed cell populations, and use appropriate negative detection controls before scoring those cells (HPA tissue IHC; general IHC practice). |
| Diffuse color obscures the tissue pattern. | Nonspecific reagent binding or detection background can obscure cellular localization (general IHC practice); diffuse staining differs from HPA's granular cytoplasmic profile (HPA tissue IHC). | Inspect no-primary and detection controls, review blocking and wash steps, and score only separable cellular signal (general IHC practice). |
| Chondrocytes stain weakly compared with bronchial epithelium. | That comparison agrees with HPA's low call for soft-tissue chondrocytes and High call for bronchial respiratory epithelial cells (HPA tissue IHC). | Record the cell types and relative signal. Do not designate chondrocytes as an absolute negative control on this evidence (HPA tissue IHC). |
| What should an IF/ICC image show? | HPA reports mitochondrial localization by ICC-IF, with an Enhanced main-location assignment (HPA subcellular: mitochondria). This supports an organelle-level expectation, while the tissue IHC profile describes chromogenic sections separately. | Expect a mitochondrial signal pattern and assess it with IF/ICC-specific controls; use the separate IF/ICC guide for workflow choices (HPA subcellular; general IF practice). |
Experiment evidence
IHC & IF images showing MAVS staining
A00169-1 · IHCIHC analysis of MAVS using anti-MAVS antibody (A00169-1). MAVS was detected in paraffin-embedded section of human mammary cancer tissue. Hea
A00169-1 · IHCIHC analysis of MAVS using anti-MAVS antibody (A00169-1). MAVS was detected in paraffin-embedded section of human lung cancer tissue. Heat m
A00169-2 · IHCImmunohistochemistry of VISA in human brain tissue with VISA antibody at 5 μg/mL.
A00169-2 · IFImmunofluorescence of VISA in Human Brain cells with VISA antibody at 20 μg/mL.
A00169-3 · IFIF analysis of MAVS using anti-MAVS antibody (A00169-3). MAVS was detected in an immunocytochemical section of Caco-2 cells. Enzyme antigen
HPA · Cerebral cortexHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Cerebral cortex. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000088888-MAVS/tissue/cerebral+cortex#imid_16800795
HPA · ColonHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Colon. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000088888-MAVS/tissue/colon#imid_16800737
HPA · LiverHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Liver. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000088888-MAVS/tissue/liver#imid_16800738
HPA · KidneyHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Kidney. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000088888-MAVS/tissue/kidney#imid_16800723
HPA · ICC-IF A-431Human Protein Atlas immunofluorescence, A-431, antibody HPA053524; green = MAVS, blue = nucleus, red = microtubules.
HPA · ICC-IF A-431Human Protein Atlas immunofluorescence, A-431, antibody HPA053524; green = MAVS, blue = nucleus, red = microtubules.
← swipe / scroll for more images →
Real IHC / IF data behind the staining-pattern expectations in this section.
Sample controls for MAVS IHC & IF
🧪Run breast first and assess its glandular cells for MAVS staining (HPA: High in breast glandular cells). HPA detects MAVS in all 44 scored tissues, so no negative tissue is available; use no-primary and isotype controls, and do not designate any cells on the breast slide as validated internal negatives (HPA: no negative rows).
Positive control tissue: Adrenal gland (Glandular cells, HPA High)
Negative control tissue: None in HPA: MAVS is detected in all 44 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 MAVS in A-431, U-251MG, U2OS, with annotated localisation: Mitochondria (enhanced) (HPA subcellular).
Technical controls: Include a no-primary (secondary-only) slide, a clonality-matched rabbit IgG isotype control, and MAVS-knockout material as a biological negative (caption: rabbit anti-MAVS antibody). Quench endogenous peroxidase and check for endogenous biotin background in breast sections when using the reported SABC/DAB detection (caption: SABC/DAB).
⚠️Feasibility: A target-specific fixation window or fixation effect is unreported, and the selected A00169-1 paraffin-section caption does not state the fixative (caption: fixative not stated). The reported IHC procedure uses citrate retrieval at pH 6 for 20 minutes, but whether MAVS staining depends on that retrieval is unreported (caption: heat-mediated citrate retrieval). The supplied evidence does not establish whether frozen sections or IF/ICC are easier; HPA reports mitochondrial localization by ICC/IF in A-431, U-251MG and U2OS cells (HPA: subcellular), while endogenous peroxidase or biotin may complicate the reported breast-section SABC/DAB readout (caption: SABC/DAB).
HPA tissue IHC evidence for MAVS
Comprehensive Human Protein Atlas IHC scoring per tissue (reliability: Enhanced — High 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adrenal gland | Glandular cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Appendix | Glandular cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Bone marrow | Hematopoietic cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Breast | Glandular cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Bronchus | Respiratory epithelial cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
Undetected expression · recommended negative controls
| Tissue | Cell type | Level | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| None in HPA: MAVS is detected in all 44 scored tissues. Use a no-primary (secondary-only) and an isotype control instead. | ||||
Section 3
Advanced MAVS IHC Tips
Troubleshoot chromogenic MAVS staining in paraffin sections using the catalog antibody’s tissue IHC example, expected localisation, and matched controls.
Which retrieval conditions should I start with for MAVS in paraffin sections?
Start with heat mediated retrieval in citrate buffer at pH 6 for 20 minutes (datasheet A00169-1; A00169-1 tissue IHC caption). If staining is weak, compare a modestly longer heating interval with the stated condition on adjacent sections, while keeping the antibody incubation and detection steps identical (standard IHC practice). The demonstrated section was incubated with 1 μg/mL primary antibody overnight at 4°C, so changing that concentration simultaneously would obscure the retrieval comparison (A00169-1 tissue IHC caption). Include a known positive compartment and a no primary control in each comparison, and watch for tissue damage or diffuse background after heating (standard IHC practice).
How should I assess whether fixation is causing weak MAVS staining?
Target specific fixation sensitivity is unknown here: the selected tissue IHC caption identifies a paraffin section but does not state its fixative (A00169-1 tissue IHC caption). Record fixative, fixation duration, processing history, and section age for each specimen before comparing staining intensity (standard IHC practice). If matched sections are available, run them together using citrate retrieval at pH 6 for 20 minutes and the demonstrated 1 μg/mL primary concentration (datasheet A00169-1; A00169-1 tissue IHC caption). Interpret a fixation effect only from a controlled specimen comparison; tissue staining patterns alone cannot establish how fixation affected this antibody (standard IHC practice).
What staining pattern should I expect, and when is localisation suspicious?
Expect mainly granular cytoplasmic staining in tissue sections (HPA tissue IHC profile), consistent with MAVS on the mitochondrial outer membrane and also at peroxisomes (UniProt Q7Z434 localisation). The HPA subcellular assessment reports mitochondrial localisation in cell imaging, providing a useful orthogonal check on a granular pattern (HPA subcellular summary). Evaluate the pattern within intact cells and compare neighboring glandular or hematopoietic populations represented among HPA high staining examples (HPA tissue IHC positives; standard IHC practice). Predominantly nuclear, uniform extracellular, or section edge staining warrants a control review before it is assigned to MAVS (UniProt Q7Z434 localisation; standard IHC practice).
Could isoforms or epitope position change what this antibody detects?
MAVS has 6 listed isoforms, but the supplied antibody evidence does not identify its binding epitope or establish isoform coverage (UniProt Q7Z434 isoforms; A00169-1 tissue IHC caption). The canonical protein has a cytoplasmic region at residues 2–513 and a transmembrane segment at 514–534, so epitope position matters when interpreting membrane accessibility (UniProt Q7Z434 topology). Its CARD spans residues 10–77, and several phosphorylation sites are listed; neither feature establishes whether this antibody preferentially detects a particular state (UniProt Q7Z434 domains and modified residues). Request an epitope map or use a separately validated antibody if isoform or modification specificity is central to the experiment (standard IHC practice).
How can I follow up an IHC pattern with multiplex MAVS immunofluorescence?
Use IF as an independent localisation check, pairing MAVS with a mitochondrial marker and, in glandular regions, an epithelial lineage marker to identify the expected cell population (UniProt Q7Z434 localisation; HPA tissue IHC positives; standard IF practice). Choose spectrally separated fluorophores and place the weaker signal in a channel with low measured tissue autofluorescence (standard IF practice). If the antibody epitope lies in the cytoplasmic 2–513 region, optimise permeabilisation to reach that face of the outer membrane; the supplied evidence does not map this antibody’s epitope (UniProt Q7Z434 topology; A00169-1 tissue IHC caption). Include single stain and no primary controls before calling overlap (standard IF practice).
How do I separate MAVS signal from chromogenic background?
The demonstrated workflow blocked with 10% goat serum, then used a biotinylated secondary, a streptavidin biotin complex, and DAB (A00169-1 tissue IHC caption). Compare a no primary section with the stained section to expose secondary, detection system, or endogenous tissue contributions (standard IHC practice). Apply an endogenous peroxidase block as a general DAB workflow step, and consider an avidin biotin blocking control if background tracks the biotin based detection system (standard IHC practice). Retain a plausible granular cytoplasmic pattern only when it is distinguishable from diffuse deposit and section edge staining under the same imaging conditions (HPA tissue IHC profile; standard IHC practice).
How should I score MAVS staining across specimens? ⚠ ANSWER MARKED FOR VERIFICATION
Define the scoring compartment as cytoplasm and select a consistent cell population before reviewing outcomes, because the reported tissue pattern is granular cytoplasmic staining (HPA tissue IHC profile; standard IHC practice). For cell level assessment, record the percentage of positive cells and an H score from 0–300, using the same intensity thresholds throughout (standard IHC practice). If spatial abundance matters, report positive cell density per mm² of viable tissue or annotated region, alongside total evaluable cells (standard IHC practice). Normalise comparisons to viable tissue area or the same cell type, and keep staining batch, exposure, and threshold settings consistent (standard IHC practice).
What makes a MAVS positive result convincing rather than artifactual?
A convincing result shows granular cytoplasmic staining in intact cells, matching the tissue profile and mitochondrial localisation evidence (HPA tissue IHC profile; HPA subcellular summary). Check that the stained population fits the annotated tissue compartment; HPA reports high staining in breast glandular cells and bone marrow hematopoietic cells (HPA tissue IHC positives). Treat staining restricted to tissue edges, necrotic areas, or no primary controls as suspect, and check endogenous peroxidase when interpreting DAB deposits (standard IHC practice). Staining intensity alone does not demonstrate antiviral pathway activation: MAVS functions as a signalling adapter, and activation involves interactions and phosphorylation beyond protein presence (UniProt Q7Z434 function, subunit and modified residues).
Boster reagents
Best MAVS / Mitochondrial antiviral-signaling protein IHC Antibodies
Anti-MAVS antibodies have IHC images from human paraffin sections and human brain tissue, plus an IF image from Caco-2 cells (catalog image captions); mouse and rat reactivity is listed for A00169-2 (catalog applications/reactivity).
Real IHC data
Anti-MAVS Antibody ®
Cat # A00169-1
Real IHC data
Anti-VISA MAVS Antibody
Cat # A00169-2
Real IF data
Anti-MAVS Antibody ®
Cat # A00169-3
A00169-1 shows IHC in a human mammary cancer paraffin section, and A00169-2 shows IHC in human brain tissue (catalog image captions). A00169-3 shows IF/ICC in Caco-2 cells and has no listed IHC application (catalog image caption; catalog applications).
Which to pick: For paraffin-section IHC, choose A00169-1: its own caption documents citrate retrieval at pH 6 for 20 minutes and primary antibody at 1 μg/mL; the fixative is unreported (A00169-1 IHC image caption). For IF/ICC, choose A00169-3 based on its Caco-2 IF image and listed IF/ICC applications (A00169-3 image caption; catalog applications). For mouse or rat samples, consider A00169-2 because those species are listed as reactive, while its IHC image documents human brain tissue only (A00169-2 catalog reactivity; IHC image caption).
Each figure is that product's own IHC / IF validation image from its datasheet.
References
- UniProt Consortium. UniProt entry Q7Z434 (MAVS_HUMAN, Mitochondrial antiviral-signaling protein).
- Human Protein Atlas. MAVS tissue IHC expression (reliability: Enhanced).
- Human Protein Atlas. MAVS subcellular location (ICC-IF): Localized to the mitochondria..
- Human Protein Atlas. MAVS antibody validation summary (3 antibodies).
- An Analysis Regarding the Prognostic Significance of MAVS and Its Underlying Biological Mechanism in Ovarian Cancer. Frontiers in cell and developmental biology 2021 — PMC8551630.
- MAVS/CMTM6 axis couples mitochondrial homeostasis to immunogenic senescence via CCL3-driven T-cell recruitment in renal carcinoma. Journal for immunotherapy of cancer 2025 — PMC12766799.
- Overexpression of the mitochondrial anti-viral signaling protein, MAVS, in cancers is associated with cell survival and inflammation. Molecular therapy. Nucleic acids 2023 — PMC10468804.
- Novel insights into stress-induced susceptibility to influenza: corticosterone impacts interferon-β responses by Mfn2-mediated ubiquitin degradation of MAVS. Signal transduction and targeted therapy 2020 — PMC7499204.
- PubMed PMID:16125763 — UniProt-cited evidence.
- PubMed PMID:16153868 — UniProt-cited evidence.
- PubMed PMID:16177806 — UniProt-cited evidence.
Immunohistochemistry protocol sheet for MAVS (Mitochondrial antiviral-signaling protein). Expected localisation Granular cytoplasm (HPA tissue IHC); mitochondrial outer membrane (UniProt). Antigen retrieval: Citrate pH 6 HIER, heat-mediated (datasheet A00169-1). Validated IHC antibody: A00169-1 at 0.5-1μg/ml (the product's own IHC validation image is shown). Controls (HPA): positive Adrenal gland (Glandular cells); negative None in HPA (detected in all 44 tissues); use no-primary + isotype controls. IHC-P workflow on paraffin sections; fixative unspecified. Protocol steps: 1. Sample: Paraffin-embedded human mammary cancer tissue; fixative not specified (datasheet A00169-1); 2. Fixation: Image fixative and duration unreported (datasheet A00169-1); 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: Citrate pH 6 , 20 min (datasheet A00169-1); 6. Peroxidase block: 3% H2O2, 10 min , room temperature (standard); 7. Blocking: 10% goat serum (datasheet A00169-1); 8. Primary antibody: Rabbit anti-MAVS, 0.5-1μg/ml (datasheet A00169-1); 9. Primary incubation: Overnight at 4 °C (datasheet A00169-1). Watch for: Fixation: Keep fixation consistent across sections (standard IHC practice; not target-specific); Caveat: Peroxisomal MAVS complicates assigning granules to mitochondria (UniProt); Isoform / epitope: 6 isoforms; no extracellular domain; check epitope coverage (UniProt); Regulation: NDFIP1/SMURF1 promote MAVS degradation (UniProt). Evidence: UniProt Q7Z434, HPA tissue IHC · Enhanced, HPA ICC-IF · mitochondria., Datasheet A00169-1, PMC10468804. QR code links to https://www.bosterbio.com/bosterbio-gene-info-cards/MAVS/immunohistochemistry-ihc-guide.