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MVK / Mevalonate kinase · IHC design guide
Design Immunohistochemistry for MVK
Plan MVK IHC-P using the granular cytoplasmic staining reported in liver hepatocytes and esophageal squamous epithelial cells (HPA tissue IHC). The catalog antibody has an IHC dilution of 2–5 μg/ml (datasheet A02465-2); interpret staining with the medium IHC–RNA consistency in mind (HPA tissue IHC).
Evidence assembled Oct 2026 · For research use; verify linked source records and product datasheet before use
MVK 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 in tissue sections (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Staining pattern | Granular cytoplasm in hepatocytes and squamous epithelial cells (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Antigen retrieval | EDTA pH 8.0 HIER, heat-mediated (datasheet A02465-2) | |
| Positive control | Esophagus+4 more · see all | |
| Negative control | Ovary |
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 A02465-2) | |
| Caveat | Staining and RNA expression have medium consistency (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Regulation | Expression regulation not annotated (UniProt) | |
| Isoform / epitope | No annotated isoforms; one 1–396 chain (UniProt) |
Section 1
Recommended MVK IHC & IF Protocols
Compare the catalog antibody’s IHC-P protocol (datasheet A02465-2) with a published MVK tissue-section IHC method (PMC11752689 methods).
| Sample | Paraffin-embedded human colon cancer tissue; fixative not specified (datasheet A02465-2) |
| Fixation | Image fixative and duration unreported (datasheet A02465-2); verify before use. |
| Sectioning | 4–5 µm sections on charged slides (standard) |
| Deparaffinisation | Xylene, graded ethanol series to water (standard) |
| Antigen retrieval | Heat retrieval: EDTA pH 8.0 (datasheet A02465-2); 20 min, 95–100 °C (standard) |
| Peroxidase block | 3% H2O2, 10 min, room temperature (standard) |
| Blocking | 10% goat serum (datasheet A02465-2) |
| Primary antibody | Rabbit anti-MVK, 2-5 μg/ml (datasheet A02465-2) |
| Primary incubation | Overnight at 4 °C (datasheet A02465-2) |
| Detection | HRP-conjugated secondary, DAB chromogen (datasheet A02465-2) |
| Counterstain | Hematoxylin, blue, dehydrate and mount (standard) |
| Expected result | MVK-positive staining in squamous epithelial cells of esophagus (HPA tissue IHC: High). HPA tissue profile: Granular cytoplasmic expression in all tissues, including testis esophagus and liver. No signal in the no-primary control. |
💡Decision noteStart with heat-mediated EDTA pH 8.0 retrieval (datasheet A02465-2); the published method also uses EDTA, for 30 min at high temperature (PMC11752689 methods).
Section 2
What Is the Expected MVK Staining Pattern?
MVK is a cytoplasmic and peroxisomal enzyme without a transmembrane segment (UniProt Q03426). In paraffin sections, expect granular cytoplasmic staining, particularly in hepatocytes, esophageal squamous epithelial cells and testicular Leydig cells (HPA tissue IHC: High in each). HPA rates the tissue IHC pattern Approved, with medium consistency between staining and RNA expression (HPA tissue IHC: reliability).
| Granular cytoplasmic staining in hepatocytes, esophageal squamous epithelial cells or Leydig cells. | This matches the reported high-staining cells and broad granular cytoplasmic pattern (HPA tissue IHC: High; profile). Compare intensity within the same staining run; a High HPA category is a reference observation, not a numeric score for every section (HPA tissue IHC: levels; standard IHC practice). |
| Predominantly nuclear or sharp plasma-membrane staining, with little cytoplasmic signal. | That distribution does not match cytoplasmic and peroxisomal MVK or its lack of a transmembrane segment (UniProt Q03426: location, topology). Treat it as suspect and check controls and detection conditions before assigning it to MVK (standard IHC practice). |
| Strong staining restricted to ovarian follicle cells, especially when a positive reference is weak. | HPA reports MVK as not detected in follicle cells (HPA tissue IHC: Ovary). Consider off-target binding or endogenous chromogen-generating activity; check omission and detection controls (standard IHC practice). One discordant section cannot establish the signal's identity (standard IHC practice). |
| Uniform chromogen haze across cells and extracellular spaces, without discernible cytoplasmic granules. | HPA describes a granular cytoplasmic pattern (HPA tissue IHC: profile). Widespread haze is more consistent with assay background than interpretable cell-associated staining; inspect the negative control, wash steps and chromogen development (standard IHC practice). |
| No signal in hepatocytes, esophageal squamous epithelial cells or Leydig cells. | These are reported High reference cells (HPA tissue IHC: Liver, Esophagus, Testis). First consider a run-level sensitivity or detection problem and compare same-run controls (standard IHC practice). HPA's Approved rating has medium RNA–staining consistency, so absence in one section needs cautious interpretation (HPA tissue IHC: reliability). |
💡Expected MVK appearanceCall a positive result when distinct granular cytoplasmic signal is present in the reported High cells (HPA tissue IHC: Liver, Esophagus, Testis); isolated strong nuclear or membrane staining is suspect given MVK's recorded location and topology (UniProt Q03426).
| Reference cell selection (HPA tissue IHC: levels). | Use reported High cells in liver, esophagus or testis to judge whether the run can show the expected pattern (HPA tissue IHC: High; standard IHC practice). Adipocytes and several glandular or epithelial populations are Medium, while ovarian follicle cells are Not detected (HPA tissue IHC: levels). |
| Intracellular distribution and topology (UniProt Q03426; HPA tissue IHC: profile). | Expect a cell-associated cytoplasmic pattern rather than a membrane outline: MVK is cytoplasmic/peroxisomal, has no transmembrane segment and is reported as granular by tissue IHC (UniProt Q03426; HPA tissue IHC: profile). Routine chromogenic IHC alone should not assign individual granules to peroxisomes (standard IHC practice). |
| IHC evidence and antibody scope (HPA tissue IHC: reliability; HPA antibodies). | The tissue pattern is Approved but has medium consistency with RNA data (HPA tissue IHC: reliability). HPA016961 is IHC Approved; HPA044110 has ICC Supported status with no IHC status supplied (HPA antibodies). Interpret unexpected staining against the IHC evidence for the antibody actually used. |
| IF/ICC Q: What localisation should be expected? | A: HPA reports vesicles as Approved and cytosol as Supported in ICC-IF images from A-431, U-251MG and U2OS (HPA subcellular). That supports an intracellular IF pattern, but the ICC-IF record does not set a paraffin IHC staining threshold (HPA subcellular; HPA tissue IHC). |
| Situation | Likely cause | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| High-reference tissue is blank (HPA tissue IHC: Liver, Esophagus, Testis). | Primary-antibody or detection failure is possible (standard IHC practice). | Check a same-run positive control, primary incubation, retrieval conditions and detection reagents before scoring the tissue negative (standard IHC practice). No MVK-specific retrieval condition is supplied (UniProt Q03426; HPA tissue IHC). |
| The entire section has diffuse brown background. | Nonspecific binding, endogenous enzyme activity or overdevelopment can obscure cell patterns (standard chromogenic IHC practice). | Compare primary-omission and detection controls; review blocking, washes and development time (standard IHC practice). Reassess only when granular cytoplasmic detail can be distinguished (HPA tissue IHC: profile). |
| Ovarian follicle cells stain strongly (HPA tissue IHC: Not detected). | Off-target antibody binding or endogenous detection activity is possible; the HPA observation alone cannot identify the cause (HPA tissue IHC: Ovary; standard IHC practice). | Inspect omission controls and repeat alongside a reported High tissue in the same run (standard IHC practice; HPA tissue IHC: Liver, Esophagus, Testis). |
| Signal appears mainly nuclear or at cell borders. | That distribution conflicts with recorded cytoplasmic/peroxisomal location and absent transmembrane segment (UniProt Q03426). | Check counterstain, chromogen deposits and negative controls, then reassess localisation in intact cells (standard IHC practice). Do not score compartment-mismatched signal as the expected pattern (UniProt Q03426). |
| Staining differs between two antibodies or between IHC and IF. | The supplied validation applies by antibody and application: HPA016961 is IHC Approved; HPA044110 is ICC Supported (HPA antibodies). | Compare each result with its own application record and controls (HPA antibodies; standard IHC/IF practice). Do not transfer the ICC-IF vesicle finding into a required paraffin IHC score (HPA subcellular; HPA tissue IHC). |
| A Medium or Low reference cell stains faintly. | HPA reports lower staining in adipocytes and several glandular, epithelial, muscle or hematopoietic populations (HPA tissue IHC: Medium, Low). | Judge adequacy using a reported High population in the same run, then score the weaker cell type separately (HPA tissue IHC: High, Medium, Low; standard IHC practice). |
Experiment evidence
IHC & IF images showing MVK staining
A02465-2 · IHCIHC analysis of MVK using anti-MVK antibody (A02465-2). MVK was detected in a paraffin-embedded section of human colon cancer tissue. Heat m
A02465-2 · IHCIHC analysis of MVK using anti-MVK antibody (A02465-2). MVK was detected in a paraffin-embedded section of human liver cancer tissue. Heat m
A02465-2 · IFIF analysis of MVK using anti-MVK antibody (A02465-2). MVK was detected in a paraffin-embedded section of human liver cancer tissue. Heat me
HPA · Cerebral cortexHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Cerebral cortex. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000110921-MVK/tissue/cerebral+cortex#imid_4486236
HPA · ColonHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Colon. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000110921-MVK/tissue/colon#imid_4486170
HPA · LiverHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Liver. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000110921-MVK/tissue/liver#imid_4486163
HPA · KidneyHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Kidney. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000110921-MVK/tissue/kidney#imid_4486172
HPA · ICC-IF A-431Human Protein Atlas immunofluorescence, A-431, antibody HPA044110; green = MVK, blue = nucleus, red = microtubules.
HPA · ICC-IF A-431Human Protein Atlas immunofluorescence, A-431, antibody HPA044110; green = MVK, blue = nucleus, red = microtubules.
← swipe / scroll for more images →
Real IHC / IF data behind the staining-pattern expectations in this section.
Sample controls for MVK IHC & IF
🧪Run liver first and expect staining in hepatocytes (HPA: High in hepatocytes). Use ovary follicle cells as the negative tissue (HPA: Not detected in follicle cells); cells outside the hepatocyte population on the liver slide can show local background if unstained, but their MVK-negative status is unverified.
Positive control tissue: Esophagus (Squamous epithelial cells, HPA High)
Negative control tissue: Ovary (HPA Not detected)
ICC-IF cell lines (HPA subcellular resource): HPA ICC-IF images show MVK in A-431, U-251MG, U2OS, with annotated localisation: Vesicles (approved), Cytosol (supported) (HPA subcellular).
Technical controls: Include a no-primary, secondary-only control, a matched rabbit IgG isotype control, and MVK-knockout material as a biological negative (selected IHC caption: rabbit primary antibody). For liver, assess endogenous peroxidase before interpreting DAB staining and endogenous biotin if using biotin-based detection (selected IHC caption: peroxidase detection with DAB; standard IHC practice).
⚠️Feasibility: A target-specific fixation window or fixation effect is unreported, and the selected A02465-2 paraffin-section caption does not report a fixative (selected IHC caption: fixative unreported). The reported IHC conditions use heat retrieval in EDTA at pH 8.0 and primary antibody at 2 μg/ml overnight at 4°C; the caption does not establish whether retrieval is required for all specimens (selected IHC caption). Neither frozen sections nor IF can be judged easier from the supplied evidence; liver peroxidase activity can complicate chromogenic interpretation (selected IHC caption: paraffin-section DAB detection; standard IHC practice).
HPA tissue IHC evidence for MVK
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
| Tissue | Cell type | Level | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Esophagus | Squamous epithelial cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Liver | Hepatocytes | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Testis | Leydig cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Adipose tissue | Adipocytes | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Adrenal gland | Glandular cells | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
Undetected expression · recommended negative controls
| Tissue | Cell type | Level | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ovary | Follicle cells | Not detected | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
Section 3
Advanced MVK IHC Tips
Troubleshoot MVK staining in paraffin sections by checking retrieval, signal location, controls, and scoring against the available tissue evidence.
Which retrieval conditions should I start with for MVK paraffin sections?
Start with heat-mediated retrieval in EDTA at pH 8.0 for paraffin sections (datasheet A02465-2). The selected tissue image used that retrieval before 10% goat serum blocking and 2 μg/ml primary antibody overnight at 4°C (caption A02465-2). If staining is weak, check deparaffinisation, heating consistency, and section integrity before comparing an alternative retrieval condition on adjacent sections (standard IHC practice). Keep the antibody concentration, detection chemistry, and development time matched across that comparison so a change in signal can be attributed to retrieval (standard IHC practice). Judge improvement by cytoplasmic signal with preserved tissue structure, rather than by darker DAB alone (HPA tissue IHC; standard IHC practice).
How should I investigate weak MVK staining after fixation?
Target-specific sensitivity of MVK staining to fixation is unknown from the supplied evidence; the selected paraffin-section caption does not state a fixative (caption A02465-2). Record the fixative, fixation duration, tissue thickness, and processing history for each section before comparing staining results (standard IHC practice). On matched sections, begin with the documented EDTA retrieval at pH 8.0 and 2 μg/ml primary antibody overnight at 4°C (caption A02465-2). If signal differs between specimens, assess morphology and processing records before assigning the difference to MVK abundance (standard IHC practice). Use a similarly processed positive-control tissue in each run to help distinguish a processing problem from a specimen-specific result (standard IHC practice).
Where should convincing MVK staining appear in a tissue section?
Expect predominantly granular cytoplasmic staining in tissue IHC, while recognising that MVK is assigned to the cytoplasm and peroxisome (HPA tissue IHC; UniProt Q03426 subcellular location). HPA reports high staining in liver hepatocytes, esophageal squamous epithelial cells, and testicular Leydig cells, providing reference cell types for pattern review (HPA tissue IHC). Evaluate signal within intact cells and compare the cytoplasm with adjacent nuclei and extracellular spaces on the same section (standard IHC practice). A chiefly nuclear or extracellular DAB pattern warrants a specificity and detection review before it is called MVK (UniProt Q03426 subcellular location; standard IHC practice). HPA describes the tissue pattern as granular, so diffuse haze alone is weak localisation evidence (HPA tissue IHC).
Could an MVK isoform or membrane topology explain unexpected staining?
The supplied record lists one 1–396 MVK chain, no annotated isoforms, and no transmembrane segment (UniProt Q03426 processing, isoforms, and topology). It also lists no signal peptide, propeptide, glycosylation sites, or modified residues, leaving no recorded processing feature that explains a shifted tissue pattern (UniProt Q03426 processing and modifications). Check the catalog antibody’s immunogen or epitope information, when available, against the sequence before attributing discrepant staining to epitope masking (standard IHC practice). Compare serial sections using the documented EDTA retrieval at pH 8.0, with identical detection settings (caption A02465-2; standard IHC practice). Treat an apparent alternative compartment as an antibody-specificity question requiring independent evidence (UniProt Q03426 subcellular location; standard IHC practice).
How can IF help assess the MVK pattern seen by chromogenic IHC?
Use IF/ICC as a separate localisation check: HPA reports MVK in vesicles and cytosol and lists images from A-431, U-251MG, and U2OS cells (HPA subcellular). For tissue multiplexing, pair MVK with a marker identifying the expected cell type, such as hepatocytes in liver, and inspect channel overlap within individual cells (HPA tissue IHC; standard IF practice). Choose fluorophores and exposure settings after measuring tissue autofluorescence in an unstained control (standard IF practice). Because MVK has no transmembrane segment and is assigned to intracellular compartments, use a permeabilisation condition that permits antibody access to cytosolic and vesicle-associated epitopes (UniProt Q03426 topology and location; HPA subcellular; standard IF practice). Validate the antibody’s IF performance independently of its paraffin-section IHC result (standard IF practice).
What should I check when MVK DAB staining looks widespread?
Begin by distinguishing granular cytoplasmic signal from uniform precipitate or staining concentrated at section edges (HPA tissue IHC; standard IHC practice). The selected image used 10% goat serum blocking, 2 μg/ml rabbit primary antibody overnight at 4°C, and peroxidase-based DAB detection (caption A02465-2). Include a no-primary control and an appropriate peroxidase block to assess detection background and endogenous enzyme activity (standard IHC practice). If background persists, review washing, secondary-antibody specificity, and DAB development time while keeping retrieval at the documented EDTA pH 8.0 condition (caption A02465-2; standard IHC practice). Compare intact cells with necrotic areas before assigning broad brown staining to MVK (standard IHC practice).
How should I score MVK staining across paraffin sections? ⚠ ANSWER MARKED FOR VERIFICATION
Score cytoplasmic staining in a defined cell population using an H-score or the percentage of positive cells, and record intensity separately (HPA tissue IHC; standard IHC practice). If counting positive cells per mm², specify the tissue area and exclude folds, necrosis, and unusable edges consistently (standard IHC practice). Normalise counts to eligible cells or analyzable tissue area, and compare only sections processed with matched retrieval, antibody exposure, and DAB development (standard IHC practice). Record the proportion of each cell type sampled because HPA reports high signal in hepatocytes and low signal in lung macrophages (HPA tissue IHC). Keep the positivity threshold fixed across the scored set and document it alongside the control results (standard IHC practice).
How do I separate genuine MVK positivity from an artefact?
A plausible positive result shows granular cytoplasmic staining in intact cells, consistent with the reported tissue pattern and cytoplasmic or peroxisomal assignment (HPA tissue IHC; UniProt Q03426 subcellular location). Compare cell identity with reported examples: hepatocytes stain strongly, whereas ovarian follicle cells were not detected in the listed HPA observations (HPA tissue IHC). Treat predominantly nuclear signal, edge-only colour, and staining confined to necrotic tissue as reasons to investigate artefact (UniProt Q03426 subcellular location; standard IHC practice). Use a no-primary control and peroxidase block to assess DAB signal from the detection system or endogenous enzyme activity (standard IHC practice). HPA rates its tissue staining Approved with medium agreement to RNA, so resolve discordant results with controls and independent evidence (HPA tissue IHC; standard IHC practice).
Boster reagents
Best MVK / Mevalonate kinase IHC Antibodies
The IHC-validated anti-MVK antibody has paraffin-section IHC data from human colon and liver cancer tissue and IF data from human liver cancer tissue (catalog images: A02465-2).
Real IHC data
Anti-MVK Antibody ®
Cat # A02465-2
A02465-2 is listed for human IHC and IF (catalog: A02465-2 applications and reactivity). Its IHC captions show human colon and liver cancer paraffin sections; its IF caption shows a human liver cancer paraffin section (catalog images: A02465-2).
Which to pick: Choose A02465-2 for human paraffin-section IHC; its own captions document that preparation, while the fixative is unreported (catalog IHC images: A02465-2). The same SKU has tissue IF data, but the supplied captions do not establish ICC validation (catalog applications and IF image: A02465-2). No cross-species option is supported by this human-reactive catalog entry (catalog reactivity: A02465-2).
Each figure is that product's own IHC / IF validation image from its datasheet.
References
- UniProt Consortium. UniProt entry Q03426 (KIME_HUMAN, Mevalonate kinase).
- Human Protein Atlas. MVK tissue IHC expression (reliability: Approved).
- Human Protein Atlas. MVK subcellular location (ICC-IF): Localized to vesicles and cytosol..
- Human Protein Atlas. MVK antibody validation summary (2 antibodies).
- MVK, induced by Kras, represses cGAS-Sting signalling in lung adenocarcinoma. European journal of medical research 2025 — PMC11752689.
- PubMed PMID:1377680 — UniProt-cited evidence.
- PubMed PMID:8302606 — UniProt-cited evidence.
- PubMed PMID:11313768 — UniProt-cited evidence.
Immunohistochemistry protocol sheet for MVK (Mevalonate kinase). Expected localisation Granular cytoplasm in tissue sections (HPA tissue IHC). Antigen retrieval: EDTA pH 8.0 HIER, heat-mediated (datasheet A02465-2). Validated IHC antibody: A02465-2 at 2-5 μg/ml (the product's own IHC validation image is shown). Controls (HPA): positive Esophagus (Squamous epithelial cells); negative Ovary. IHC-P workflow on paraffin sections; fixative unspecified. Protocol steps: 1. Sample: Paraffin-embedded human colon cancer tissue; fixative not specified (datasheet A02465-2); 2. Fixation: Image fixative and duration unreported (datasheet A02465-2); 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 A02465-2); 20 min, 95–100 °C (standard); 6. Peroxidase block: 3% H2O2, 10 min , room temperature (standard); 7. Blocking: 10% goat serum (datasheet A02465-2); 8. Primary antibody: Rabbit anti-MVK, 2-5 μg/ml (datasheet A02465-2); 9. Primary incubation: Overnight at 4 °C (datasheet A02465-2). Watch for: Fixation: Matched tissue-IHC evidence does not establish the fixation claim. Validate the specimen-specific method before use. (selected-SKU IHC image A02465-2); Caveat: Staining and RNA expression have medium consistency (HPA tissue IHC); Isoform / epitope: No annotated isoforms; one 1–396 chain (UniProt); Regulation: Expression regulation not annotated (UniProt). Evidence: UniProt Q03426, HPA tissue IHC · Approved, HPA ICC-IF · vesicles and cytosol., Datasheet A02465-2, PMC11752689. QR code links to https://www.bosterbio.com/bosterbio-gene-info-cards/MVK/immunohistochemistry-ihc-guide.