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- Table of Contents
Plan NSDHL chromogenic IHC in paraffin sections using cytoplasmic staining and strongly staining hepatocytes as references (HPA tissue IHC). This guide covers fixation, detection and scoring for a protein annotated at the ER membrane and lipid droplets (UniProt).
Expected localisation, validated protocols, controls and antibodies — the at-a-glance facts below, then the full design guide.
| Expected localisation | Cytoplasmic in tissue (HPA tissue IHC); ER membrane and lipid droplet at protein level (UniProt) | |
| Staining pattern | Cytoplasmic staining across tissues (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Antigen retrieval | EDTA pH 8.0 HIER, heat-mediated (datasheet A04902-1) | |
| Positive control | Epididymis+4 more · see all | |
| Negative control | None in HPA (detected in all 45 tissues); use no-primary + isotype controls |
| Fixation | Keep fixation consistent across sections. (standard IHC practice; not target-specific) | |
| Caveat | High in hepatocytes (HPA tissue IHC); endogenous peroxidase may raise DAB background (standard IHC practice) | |
| Regulation | No staining regulator specified (UniProt) | |
| Isoform / epitope | No annotated isoforms; one 1–373 chain (UniProt) |
The catalog antibody uses EDTA pH 8.0 heat retrieval (datasheet A04902-1). Published IHC protocols below cover gastric cancer, breast cancer, and mouse tissues (PMC7891516; PMC7197182; PMC2783206).
| Sample | Paraffin-embedded human liver cancer tissue; fixative not specified (datasheet A04902-1) |
| Fixation | Image fixative and duration unreported (datasheet A04902-1); verify before use. |
| Sectioning | 4–5 µm sections on charged slides (standard) |
| Deparaffinisation | Xylene, graded ethanol series to water (standard) |
| Antigen retrieval | Heat retrieval: EDTA pH 8.0 (datasheet A04902-1); 20 min, 95–100 °C (standard) |
| Peroxidase block | 3% H2O2, 10 min, room temperature (standard) |
| Blocking | 10% goat serum (datasheet A04902-1) |
| Primary antibody | Rabbit anti-NSDHL, 2-5 μg/ml (datasheet A04902-1) |
| Primary incubation | Overnight at 4 °C (datasheet A04902-1) |
| Detection | HRP-conjugated secondary, DAB chromogen (datasheet A04902-1) |
| Counterstain | Hematoxylin, blue, dehydrate and mount (standard) |
| Expected result | NSDHL-positive staining in glandular cells of epididymis (HPA tissue IHC: High). HPA tissue profile: Cytoplasmic expression in all tissues. No signal in the no-primary control. |
NSDHL is an ER membrane protein also found at lipid droplets (UniProt Q15738; HPA subcellular). In paraffin IHC, expect cytoplasmic staining, including strong signal in hepatocytes, Leydig cells, esophageal squamous epithelium, and epididymal glandular cells (HPA tissue IHC). Its single transmembrane segment spans residues 298–318 (UniProt Q15738 topology). HPA rates the tissue pattern Enhanced, with medium consistency between antibody staining and RNA expression (HPA tissue IHC).
| Cytoplasmic staining is strong in liver hepatocytes or testis Leydig cells. | This matches the cell type and High staining level reported for each tissue (HPA tissue IHC). Judge signal against a reagent negative control and surrounding tissue; HPA intensity categories are reference observations, not fixed scoring thresholds (general IHC practice; HPA tissue IHC). |
| Signal appears mainly nuclear, extracellular, or confined to cell borders. | That distribution does not fit the cytoplasmic tissue pattern (HPA tissue IHC) or ER membrane and lipid droplet locations (UniProt Q15738; HPA subcellular). Check morphology and controls before assigning it to NSDHL; chromogenic IHC alone does not resolve ER membranes or lipid droplets (general IHC practice). |
| An unexpected cell population stains much more strongly than nearby expected cells. | Compare the exact cell type with HPA observations: cerebral cortex endothelial cells and parathyroid glandular cells, for example, are Low (HPA tissue IHC). Unexpected intensity can prompt a cross-reactivity or detection-background check, but HPA reports cytoplasmic expression across tissues and supplies no negative tissue here (HPA tissue IHC). |
| Brown color spreads across tissue, stroma, or spaces without a clear cellular pattern. | Treat this as possible detection background rather than a positive NSDHL call (general IHC practice). HPA describes cytoplasmic expression in cells (HPA tissue IHC); compare a reagent negative control and inspect whether deposits follow tissue structure before scoring (general IHC practice). |
| A known high-staining cell type shows no detectable signal. | Hepatocytes and Leydig cells are High HPA reference populations (HPA tissue IHC). First check tissue identity, staining run controls, antibody application, retrieval, and detection steps (general IHC practice). An absent result alone does not establish loss of NSDHL, and no target-specific fixation sensitivity is reported in the supplied sources. |
| Cell and tissue reference | HPA reports cytoplasmic expression across tissues and low RNA tissue specificity; High staining is documented in hepatocytes, Leydig cells, esophageal squamous epithelial cells, and epididymal glandular cells, while several other listed cell populations are Medium or Low (HPA tissue IHC). Use the named cell population when comparing slides, rather than treating an entire organ as uniformly positive. |
| Membrane topology and epitope uncertainty | NSDHL has one transmembrane segment at residues 298–318 and is assigned to the ER membrane and lipid droplets (UniProt Q15738). The supplied evidence does not locate the antibody epitope or show how retrieval changes its accessibility; topology alone cannot predict an optimal retrieval condition (UniProt Q15738 topology; general IHC practice). |
| Antibody evidence | Both listed rabbit polyclonal antibodies, HPA000248 and HPA000571, have Enhanced IHC and ICC validation status (HPA antibodies). HPA also rates the tissue IHC profile Enhanced but describes only medium staining–RNA consistency (HPA tissue IHC). These ratings support comparison with HPA patterns; they do not validate every unexpected cell type or staining condition. |
| Chromogenic detection background | Endogenous enzyme activity or nonspecific reagent binding can contribute color in chromogenic IHC (general IHC practice). A matched reagent negative control and the detection system's recommended blocking steps help distinguish background from cell-associated staining (general IHC practice); neither UniProt nor HPA identifies an NSDHL-specific blocking requirement. |
| IF/ICC: where should NSDHL appear? | HPA places the main IF/ICC signal in the ER, with additional lipid droplet localization; its subcellular assessment is Enhanced (HPA subcellular). UniProt likewise assigns ER membrane and lipid droplet locations (UniProt Q15738). This is the expected IF/ICC localization; the organelle-level pattern should not be demanded of routine chromogenic tissue IHC (general IHC practice). |
| Situation | Likely cause | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| No signal in liver hepatocytes or testis Leydig cells | A high-staining HPA reference population is absent, but the observation alone cannot identify a failed step or biological loss (HPA tissue IHC). | Confirm the cell type and run control, then check antibody application, retrieval, detection reagents, and counterstain visibility (general IHC practice). Record any changes before repeating; the supplied sources specify no NSDHL retrieval setting. |
| Predominantly nuclear or extracellular staining | The compartment conflicts with HPA cytoplasmic IHC and the ER membrane or lipid droplet assignments (HPA tissue IHC; UniProt Q15738). Background or cross-reactivity is possible (general IHC practice). | Inspect section morphology and the reagent negative control; compare a known high-staining cell population before interpreting the unusual compartment as NSDHL (HPA tissue IHC; general IHC practice). |
| Uniform brown haze obscures cellular boundaries | Diffuse chromogenic deposit can arise from detection background, including endogenous activity or nonspecific reagent binding (general IHC practice). | Check reagent negative controls and the detection system's blocking and wash steps, then score only clearly cell-associated staining (general IHC practice; HPA tissue IHC: cytoplasmic expression). |
| Strong signal in a population listed as Low by HPA | A mismatch may reflect cross-reactivity, background, or a context difference; HPA Low is not a formal negative designation (HPA tissue IHC). | Verify the exact cell type and compare staining with an HPA High reference and reagent negative control (HPA tissue IHC; general IHC practice). Report the discrepancy instead of treating it as established NSDHL expression. |
| Uneven staining across a section | An inconsistent chromogenic run or uneven tissue condition can complicate interpretation (general IHC practice); the supplied UniProt and HPA records do not establish an NSDHL-specific fixation effect. | Compare affected and unaffected areas, inspect section integrity and run controls, and repeat the stain if the pattern prevents cell-level scoring (general IHC practice). |
| A reagent negative control also develops brown color | The control implicates detection background rather than a reliable NSDHL-specific positive call (general IHC practice). | Review endogenous-activity blocking, detection reagents, and washes under the detection system's instructions; resolve control staining before comparing intensities with HPA tissue references (general IHC practice; HPA tissue IHC). |
Comprehensive Human Protein Atlas IHC scoring per tissue (reliability: Enhanced — 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.
| Tissue | Cell type | Level | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Epididymis | Glandular cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Esophagus | Squamous epithelial cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Liver | Hepatocytes | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Testis | Leydig cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Adrenal gland | Glandular cells | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Tissue | Cell type | Level | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| None in HPA: NSDHL is detected in all 45 scored tissues. Use a no-primary (secondary-only) and an isotype control instead. | ||||
Troubleshoot NSDHL staining in paraffin sections using the documented IHC conditions, expected cytoplasmic pattern, and compartment-specific controls.
The catalog antibody has IHC images from human and rat paraffin sections and IF images from human paraffin sections (A04902-1 image captions).
A04902-1 has IHC images from human liver, human liver cancer, human lung cancer and rat liver paraffin sections, plus IF images from human liver and lung cancer paraffin sections (catalog image captions). M04902 is listed for human IHC and ICC/IF, but has no IHC or IF image in the payload (catalog applications, reactivity and image lists).
Which to pick: For tissue IHC, choose A04902-1: its paraffin-section captions document EDTA retrieval at pH 8.0 and primary antibody at 2 μg/ml; the fixative is unreported (A04902-1 IHC captions). For human ICC, M04902 is a rabbit monoclonal listed for ICC/IF, while A04902-1 has documented tissue IF images (catalog clone, applications and IF image captions). For cross-species IHC, A04902-1 has human and rat paraffin-section images; mouse reactivity is listed, but the supplied IHC captions do not show mouse tissue (catalog reactivity and A04902-1 IHC captions).