This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.
- Table of Contents
This guide uses catalog antibody A02791 at 0.5–1 μg/ml for chromogenic IHC on paraffin sections (datasheet: A02791). Use glandular cells as a high-staining comparator and expect broad cytoplasmic tissue staining (HPA tissue IHC).
Expected localisation, validated protocols, controls and antibodies — the at-a-glance facts below, then the full design guide.
| Expected localisation | Tissue: cytoplasmic (HPA tissue IHC); molecular: nuclear/nucleolar (UniProt) | |
| Staining pattern | Broad cytoplasmic staining across tissue cell types (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Antigen retrieval | Citrate pH 6 HIER, heat-mediated (datasheet A02791) | |
| Positive control | Appendix+4 more · see all | |
| Negative control | None in HPA (detected in all 45 tissues); use no-primary + isotype controls |
| Fixation | Matched tissue-IHC evidence does not establish the fixation claim. Validate the specimen-specific method before use. (selected-SKU IHC image A02791) | |
| Caveat | Muscle cells can stain weakly despite broad expression (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Regulation | Isoform 1 is strong in cancer cells (UniProt) | |
| Isoform / epitope | 2 isoforms; antibody epitope coverage is unspecified (UniProt; datasheet A02791) |
The catalog antibody protocol (datasheet: A02791) is followed by a published PA2G4 chromogenic IHC protocol for nasopharyngeal paraffin sections (PMC8354561).
| Sample | Paraffin-embedded rat intestine tissues; fixative not specified (datasheet A02791) |
| Fixation | Image fixative and duration unreported (datasheet A02791); 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 A02791) |
| Peroxidase block | 3% H2O2, 10 min, room temperature (standard) |
| Blocking | 10% goat serum (datasheet A02791) |
| Primary antibody | Rabbit anti-PA2G4, 0.5-1μg/ml (datasheet A02791) |
| Primary incubation | Overnight at 4 °C (datasheet A02791) |
| Detection | Streptavidin-biotin complex (SABC), DAB chromogen (datasheet A02791) |
| Counterstain | Hematoxylin, blue, dehydrate and mount (standard) |
| Expected result | PA2G4-positive staining in glandular cells of appendix (HPA tissue IHC: High). HPA tissue profile: Ubiquitous cytoplasmic expression. No signal in the no-primary control. |
PA2G4 should show predominantly cytoplasmic staining in many tissues, with strong staining reported in colon and duodenum glandular cells, bronchial respiratory epithelial cells, and cerebral cortex neurons (HPA tissue IHC: ubiquitous cytoplasmic expression; High in those cells). Interpret the pattern with moderate confidence because staining and RNA data have medium consistency (HPA tissue IHC: Supported). Nuclear or nucleolar localization is also possible (UniProt Q9UQ80: subcellular location). PA2G4 has no transmembrane segment (UniProt Q9UQ80: topology).
| Clear cytoplasmic staining in colon or duodenum glandular cells, with recognizable tissue structure. | This fits the reported strong glandular signal (HPA tissue IHC: High in colon and duodenum glandular cells). Assess the proportion of stained cells and intensity within the named compartment; a dark section alone does not establish a specific result (general IHC practice). |
| A membrane-only rim dominates, with little cytoplasmic staining in an expected positive cell population. | That distribution conflicts with the reported cytoplasmic pattern and the absence of a transmembrane segment (HPA tissue IHC: ubiquitous cytoplasmic expression; UniProt Q9UQ80: topology). Check morphology and controls before calling it PA2G4. Nuclear or nucleolar staining requires separate assessment because those locations are annotated (UniProt Q9UQ80: subcellular location). |
| Strong staining appears chiefly in an unexpected cell population, while the expected cells are weak. | Treat this as a specificity question, not proof of cross-reactivity: PA2G4 is broadly distributed (HPA tissue IHC: ubiquitous cytoplasmic expression). Compare a second validated antibody where available and inspect detection-only controls for endogenous activity (HPA antibodies: IHC Supported; general IHC practice). |
| Color spreads across stroma, blank areas, or many cell compartments without clear boundaries. | Diffuse deposition is difficult to score as cellular PA2G4. Recheck blocking, washing, detection, and counterstain using matched control sections (general IHC practice). HPA describes a cytoplasmic tissue pattern, not diffuse extracellular staining (HPA tissue IHC: profile). |
| The expected glandular or epithelial cells show no signal in an otherwise interpretable section. | A negative call needs a working positive control: colon or duodenum glandular cells and bronchial respiratory epithelial cells are reported High (HPA tissue IHC). If a parallel positive section also fails, review retrieval, antibody dilution, and detection as general IHC variables; the sources do not establish PA2G4-specific fixation sensitivity. |
| Tissue and cell selection | HPA reports High staining in appendix, colon, duodenum, endometrium, and fallopian tube glandular cells; bronchial respiratory epithelium and cortical neurons are also High (HPA tissue IHC). Cholangiocytes and smooth or skeletal muscle cells are Low, so weak staining there is an unsuitable sole failure criterion (HPA tissue IHC). |
| Compartment and biological state | Cytoplasmic staining is the tissue-wide reference pattern (HPA tissue IHC). UniProt also annotates nucleus and nucleolus, nuclear translocation after HRG treatment, and regulation of nucleolar localization by Ser-361 phosphorylation (UniProt Q9UQ80). These annotations support considering a real nuclear component, but do not predict its intensity in a given paraffin section. |
| Isoforms and antibody recognition | Two isoforms are listed, and both are described as widely expressed; isoform 1 is reported strongly expressed at protein level in cancer cells, while isoform 2 is undetectable there (UniProt Q9UQ80: tissue specificity). The supplied antibody summary does not specify recognized epitopes or isoform selectivity, so do not assign a staining pattern to either isoform. |
| Strength of reference evidence | The tissue profile is Supported with medium consistency between antibody staining and RNA data (HPA tissue IHC). Three listed antibodies have IHC Supported status, while two also have ICC Supported status (HPA antibodies). These ratings guide comparison; they do not validate every compartment or exclude nonspecific color in an individual section. |
| Paraffin-section workflow | Antigen retrieval, blocking, dilution, and detection can be checked as general IHC variables when controls fail (general IHC practice). No target-specific fixation or retrieval effect, epitope position, or recommended dilution is supplied here; avoid attributing a weak result to a particular PA2G4 epitope or fixation response. |
| Situation | Likely cause | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| Colon or duodenum glandular positive control is blank (HPA tissue IHC: High). | The run may have failed at retrieval, antibody incubation, or chromogenic detection; the record does not identify a PA2G4-specific cause. | Verify the control section and run records, then check retrieval conditions, primary dilution, reagent integrity, and detection on a repeat run (general IHC practice). |
| Tissue and empty spaces both show diffuse color. | Background from incomplete blocking, washing, or detection chemistry is possible (general IHC practice). | Inspect a section without primary antibody, adjust general blocking or washing steps, and score only color tied to intact cells (general IHC practice). |
| A sharp membrane rim is the dominant pattern. | This conflicts with cytoplasmic tissue staining and PA2G4's lack of a transmembrane segment (HPA tissue IHC; UniProt Q9UQ80: topology). | Compare with a validated positive section and detection-only control; review cell boundaries before interpreting the rim as specific (general IHC practice). |
| Unexpected cells stain much more strongly than the expected cell population. | Cross-reactivity or endogenous detection activity is possible, but broad PA2G4 expression means cell identity alone cannot settle specificity (HPA tissue IHC: ubiquitous expression; general IHC practice). | Confirm cell identity and compartment; compare a second IHC Supported antibody if available and use a detection-only control (HPA antibodies; general IHC practice). |
| Cholangiocytes or myocytes show faint staining. | Low staining is reported in liver cholangiocytes, smooth muscle cells, and skeletal myocytes (HPA tissue IHC: Low). | Treat faint signal as compatible with the reference profile. Judge assay performance against a High cell population in a control section (HPA tissue IHC; general IHC practice). |
| Q: Does cytosolic IF/ICC signal support the IHC interpretation? | A: HPA lists cytosol as the supported main ICC-IF location, consistent with its cytoplasmic tissue IHC profile (HPA subcellular; HPA tissue IHC). | Use that agreement as a localization check, while interpreting the paraffin-section result and its controls on their own terms; consult the separate IF/ICC guide for that application. |
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.
| Tissue | Cell type | Level | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appendix | Glandular cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Bronchus | Respiratory epithelial cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Cerebellum | Cells in molecular layer | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Cerebral cortex | Neuronal cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Colon | Glandular cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Tissue | Cell type | Level | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| None in HPA: PA2G4 is detected in all 45 scored tissues. Use a no-primary (secondary-only) and an isotype control instead. | ||||
Use the validated paraffin-section workflow as a starting point, then assess PA2G4 staining by compartment, cell type and controls.
The catalog includes PA2G4 antibodies with tissue IHC images from human, mouse, and rat samples (catalog IHC captions) and a cellular IF image from U251 cells (A02791-1 IF caption).
A02791 has paraffin-section IHC images from rat intestine, mouse intestine and brain, and human stomach cancer; A02791-1 has an IHC image from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded human lung carcinoma (catalog IHC captions). A02791-2 has an IHC image from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded mouse brain (A02791-2 IHC caption).
Which to pick: For tissue IHC, choose A02791 when its paraffin-section examples fit the study; its captions do not report a fixative (A02791 IHC captions). For cellular IF, choose A02791-1, which lists IF and shows staining in U251 cells (A02791-1 applications; A02791-1 IF caption). For work spanning human, mouse, and rat, A02791 lists IHC reactivity in all three species, while A02791-2 lists human and mouse IHC-P reactivity (catalog applications and reactivity).