PARK7 / Parkinson disease protein 7 · IHC design guide

Design Immunohistochemistry for PARK7

Plan PARK7 chromogenic IHC on paraffin sections with the catalog antibody at 2–5 µg/ml (datasheet M00757-4). Use cytoplasmic and nuclear tissue staining as the scoring reference (HPA tissue IHC), while accounting for stress-related changes in localisation (UniProt).

Evidence assembled Oct 2026 · For research use; verify linked source records and product datasheet before use
Immunohistochemistry protocol sheet for PARK7 (IHC for PARK7): expected localisation Cytoplasmic and nuclear in most tissues (HPA tissue IHC), antibody M00757-4, validated IHC image, and IHC protocol steps
Printable PARK7 IHC protocol sheet — expected localisation Cytoplasmic and nuclear in most tissues (HPA tissue IHC), antibody M00757-4, controls and protocol steps. Open the full PARK7 IHC guide →

PARK7 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 Cytoplasmic and nuclear in most tissues (HPA tissue IHC)
Staining pattern Glandular and other cells show cytoplasmic and nuclear staining (HPA tissue IHC)
Antigen retrieval EDTA pH 8.0 HIER, heat-mediated (datasheet M00757-4)
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 Oxidative stress can shift staining toward nuclei (UniProt)
Regulation No expression-level regulator specified (UniProt)
Isoform / epitope 0 annotated isoforms; intracellular epitope expected (UniProt)
Section 1

Recommended PARK7 IHC & IF Protocols

The catalog antibody’s IHC-P protocol (datasheet: M00757-4) is followed by three published PARK7 IHC protocols (PMC6377712; PMC3260266; PMC11538469).

Recommended immunohistochemistry (IHC-P) protocol parameters
SampleParaffin-embedded human endometrial carcinoma tissue; fixative not specified (datasheet M00757-4)
FixationImage fixative and duration unreported (datasheet M00757-4); verify before use.
Sectioning4–5 µm sections on charged slides (standard)
DeparaffinisationXylene, graded ethanol series to water (standard)
Antigen retrievalHeat retrieval: EDTA pH 8.0 (datasheet M00757-4); 20 min, 95–100 °C (standard)
Peroxidase block3% H2O2, 10 min, room temperature (standard)
Blocking10% goat serum (datasheet M00757-4)
Primary antibodyMouse monoclonal (clone 4B10) anti-PARK7, 2-5 µg/ml (datasheet M00757-4)
Primary incubationOvernight at 4 °C (datasheet M00757-4)
DetectionHRP-conjugated secondary, DAB chromogen (datasheet M00757-4)
CounterstainHematoxylin, blue, dehydrate and mount (standard)
Expected resultPARK7-positive staining in glandular cells of adrenal gland (HPA tissue IHC: High). HPA tissue profile: Cytoplasmic and nuclear expression in most tissues. No signal in the no-primary control.
💡Decision noteStart with EDTA pH 8.0 heat retrieval (datasheet: M00757-4); a published adipose-tissue protocol also used boiling EDTA at this pH (PMC3260266).
Section 2

What Is the Expected PARK7 Staining Pattern?

PARK7 staining should be predominantly cytoplasmic, with nuclear signal in many tissues (HPA: cytoplasmic and nuclear expression in most tissues; UniProt Q99497: predominantly cytoplasmic under normal conditions). High staining is reported in several glandular populations, hippocampal glia, and lung alveolar type I cells (HPA tissue IHC). Interpret intensity by cell type: HPA rates tissue IHC reliability Supported, with medium consistency between staining and RNA data (HPA tissue IHC). PARK7 has no transmembrane segment (UniProt Q99497 topology).

What am I looking at on my slide?
Cytoplasmic staining with some nuclear staining in an expected cell population.This fits the broad tissue pattern (HPA tissue IHC) and the normally predominant cytoplasmic localisation (UniProt Q99497). Judge the relevant cells, rather than the entire section, when calling a positive result (general IHC practice).
A sharply membrane-only or extracellular pattern, without credible cytoplasmic staining.Treat this as a possible artefact and check controls before assigning PARK7: it lacks a transmembrane segment, and its usual location is cytoplasmic (UniProt Q99497). Reported membrane raft localisation does not establish a membrane-only IHC pattern (UniProt Q99497).
Strong staining confined to an unexpected cell type while expected cells stay faint.Investigate cross-reactivity or endogenous detection activity (general IHC practice). HPA reports high staining in defined cell populations, such as hippocampal glia and pancreatic exocrine glandular cells; those observations do not establish that every cell in those tissues should be high (HPA tissue IHC).
Diffuse colour over tissue and empty areas, obscuring cell boundaries.Interpret this as background until a clean cellular pattern is visible (general IHC practice). Compare a no-primary control and assess blocking, detection reagents, and washing; diffuse colour alone cannot establish PARK7 localisation (general IHC practice).
No discernible signal in a tissue containing an HPA high-staining cell population.Check the sampled cell population and the IHC run before calling the tissue negative (general IHC practice). HPA reports high staining in, for example, adrenal glandular cells and duodenal Brunner glands, but rates overall tissue IHC reliability Supported with medium consistency (HPA tissue IHC).
💡Expected PARK7 appearanceA credible positive shows predominantly cytoplasmic staining, with possible nuclear signal, in the expected cells; HPA rates several specified cell populations High, while isolated membrane-only or diffuse acellular colour warrants control review (HPA tissue IHC; UniProt Q99497 localisation and topology; general IHC practice).
How each factor affects the staining
Cell population and tissueHPA rates adrenal, breast, epididymal, and fallopian tube glandular cells High, alongside duodenal Brunner glands, hippocampal glia, lung alveolar type I cells, and pancreatic exocrine glandular cells (HPA tissue IHC). Its Low calls include cardiomyocytes and smooth muscle cells (HPA tissue IHC).
Compartment and cellular stateCytoplasm predominates normally; UniProt reports movement to mitochondria and then nucleus with oxidative stress (UniProt Q99497). A changed compartment could therefore have biological context, but staining alone does not establish oxidative stress; assess morphology and controls (general IHC practice).
Evidence across sourcesUniProt reports high expression in heart and pancreatic islets above surrounding exocrine tissue (UniProt Q99497); HPA rates cardiomyocyte staining Low and pancreatic exocrine glandular staining High (HPA tissue IHC). These are source-specific observations; do not convert them into a universal IHC intensity ranking.
Antibody validationHPA lists IHC as Supported for HPA004190 and CAB005870; HPA004190 also has ICC Supported (HPA antibodies). Supported tissue IHC has medium consistency with RNA data (HPA tissue IHC). Use the validation status as context, not proof that every signal is specific (general IHC practice).
IF/ICC Q&A: what localisation should IF show?Mainly nucleoplasm and cytosol; flagellar centriole and mid piece are additional reported locations (HPA ICC-IF). These IF observations help check compartment plausibility, but they do not supply an IHC-P protocol or make the additional locations expected in every cell (HPA ICC-IF).
Fixation sensitivityTarget-specific effects of fixation on PARK7 staining are unreported in the supplied UniProt and HPA evidence. Record the preparation and compare matched controls when investigating a result (general IHC practice).
Why is my staining missing, weak or wrong?
SituationLikely causeNext action
Expected glandular cells show no stain.The expected population may be absent from the section, or the IHC run may have failed (general IHC practice).Confirm cell identity on the counterstained section, then inspect a tissue control containing an HPA High population and the run controls (HPA tissue IHC; general IHC practice).
Nuclei stain but cytoplasm is consistently blank.That pattern is incomplete for normally predominant cytoplasmic PARK7; nuclear localisation can occur, so the cause is unresolved from appearance alone (UniProt Q99497).Compare an expected positive and detection controls; review antibody dilution and antigen retrieval against the catalog antibody's IHC-P instructions (general IHC practice).
Colour is strongest along membranes or tissue edges.An edge or detection artefact is possible; PARK7 has no transmembrane segment (UniProt Q99497 topology; general IHC practice).Compare interior cells with edges, inspect a no-primary control, and reassess blocking and washing before scoring (general IHC practice).
Many unrelated cell types stain strongly.The pattern may reflect nonspecific binding or endogenous detection activity; HPA High calls apply to specified cell populations (general IHC practice; HPA tissue IHC).Inspect no-primary and appropriate detection controls, then adjust blocking or detection conditions as indicated by those controls (general IHC practice).
A low-staining HPA cell population appears negative.Low means weak staining is reported, so absence of visible colour at one exposure or threshold is inconclusive (HPA tissue IHC; general IHC practice).Check an HPA High cell population in the same run before interpreting the low-staining cells, and retain the HPA reliability caveat (HPA tissue IHC; general IHC practice).
IHC and IF appear to disagree about nuclear signal.HPA tissue IHC reports cytoplasmic and nuclear expression, while ICC-IF supports nucleoplasm and cytosol; samples and assay readouts differ (HPA tissue IHC; HPA ICC-IF).Compare cell identity and controls within each assay, then report each observed compartment with its method instead of inferring that one image invalidates the other (general IHC/IF practice).

Sample controls for PARK7 IHC & IF

🧪Run adrenal gland first: its glandular cells should show PARK7 staining (HPA: High in adrenal gland glandular cells). HPA detects PARK7 in all 44 scored tissues, so there is no supported negative tissue or validated internal negative cell population; the no-primary and isotype controls should show only background, and any apparently unstained cells on the positive slide should not be called PARK7-negative without further validation (HPA: detected in all 44 scored tissues).
Positive control tissue: Adrenal gland (Glandular cells, HPA High)
Negative control tissue: None in HPA: PARK7 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 PARK7 in A-431, U-251MG, U2OS, Sperm, with annotated localisation: Nucleoplasm (supported), Cytosol (supported) (HPA subcellular).
Technical controls: Include a no-primary, secondary-only control and an isotype control matched to the mouse primary antibody; use a PARK7 knockout specimen as a biological negative if available (caption: mouse anti-PARK7 antibody; standard IHC practice). For chromogenic adrenal sections, block endogenous peroxidase and compare any color in blood-rich areas with the no-primary control (caption: HRP/DAB detection; standard IHC practice).
⚠️Feasibility: A target-specific fixation window or fixation effect is unreported, and the selected M00757-4 paraffin-section caption does not state the fixative (selected-SKU IHC caption). The caption uses heat-mediated retrieval in EDTA at pH 8.0, but does not establish that retrieval is required under every preparation (selected-SKU IHC caption). Relative ease of frozen-section IHC or IF is unreported; for adrenal gland chromogenic IHC, check blood-rich areas for peroxidase-related background (supplied application evidence; standard IHC practice).

HPA tissue IHC evidence for PARK7

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

TissueCell typeLevelEvidenceSource
Adrenal gland Glandular cells High Protein (IHC) HPA →
Breast Glandular cells High Protein (IHC) HPA →
Duodenum Glands of Brunner High Protein (IHC) HPA →
Epididymis Glandular cells High Protein (IHC) HPA →
Fallopian tube Glandular cells High Protein (IHC) HPA →

Undetected expression · recommended negative controls

TissueCell typeLevelEvidenceSource
None in HPA: PARK7 is detected in all 44 scored tissues. Use a no-primary (secondary-only) and an isotype control instead.
Section 3

Advanced PARK7 IHC Tips

Troubleshoot PARK7 staining by checking retrieval, compartment, cell type and controls before comparing chromogenic signal across sections (datasheet M00757-4; HPA tissue IHC; UniProt Q99497).

What retrieval should I try first when PARK7 staining is weak?
Start with heat-mediated antigen retrieval in EDTA at pH 8.0 for paraffin sections (datasheet M00757-4). The catalog antibody stained a paraffin-embedded human endometrial carcinoma section after this retrieval, followed by 2 μg/ml primary antibody overnight at 4°C (datasheet M00757-4). If signal is weak, compare retrieval duration and heating conditions on adjacent sections while holding antibody concentration and detection constant (standard IHC practice). Include a section processed without primary antibody to distinguish weak PARK7 staining from detection background (standard IHC practice). Record retrieval conditions with each result, because the caption does not specify a heating time or temperature (datasheet M00757-4).
Could fixation explain inconsistent PARK7 staining between paraffin blocks?
PARK7-specific sensitivity to fixation is unknown from the supplied evidence; the catalog caption describes a paraffin section but does not state its fixative (datasheet M00757-4). Record the fixative, fixation duration and processing history for each block before comparing staining intensity (standard IHC practice). Test adjacent sections with the same EDTA pH 8.0 retrieval, 2 μg/ml primary concentration and detection workflow to isolate block-related differences (datasheet M00757-4; standard IHC practice). Include a consistently processed reference section in each run and examine morphology alongside staining (standard IHC practice). Do not assign a PARK7-specific fixation effect without a direct comparison of fixation conditions (standard IHC practice).
How should I evaluate nuclear versus cytoplasmic PARK7 staining?
Score cytoplasmic and nuclear staining separately: tissue IHC shows both compartments in most tissues, with medium consistency between staining and RNA data (HPA tissue IHC). Predominantly cytoplasmic staining with lesser nuclear staining is compatible with the normal distribution described for PARK7 (UniProt Q99497 subcellular location). Oxidative stress can shift PARK7 toward mitochondria and subsequently the nucleus, so a nuclear increase needs biological context and matched processing (UniProt Q99497 subcellular location; standard IHC practice). Confirm that apparent nuclear DAB lies within counterstained nuclei rather than overlying cytoplasm or precipitate (standard IHC practice). Compare compartments within the same cell population and exclude damaged tissue from scoring (standard IHC practice).
Could epitope accessibility or PARK7 modification change the staining pattern?
No isoforms are annotated for PARK7 in the supplied record, and the catalog antibody’s epitope is not specified (UniProt Q99497 isoforms; datasheet M00757-4). PARK7 has documented modifications including phosphotyrosine at residue 67 and an alternate cysteine sulfinic acid modification at residue 106 (UniProt Q99497 modified residues). Their effect on this antibody’s binding cannot be determined without epitope information or direct testing (UniProt Q99497 modified residues; datasheet M00757-4). Keep retrieval and detection conditions matched when comparing specimens, and test an independently validated antibody if epitope masking is suspected (standard IHC practice). Describe discrepant staining as antibody-dependent until those checks resolve it (standard IHC practice).
How can I assess PARK7 localisation by IF alongside a cell-type marker?
On the separate IF/ICC workflow, multiplex PARK7 with an independently validated marker of the expected cell type, such as a glial-cell marker when examining hippocampal glia (HPA tissue IHC; standard IF practice). Choose spectrally separated fluorophores and inspect unstained tissue for autofluorescence before assigning a faint channel to PARK7 (standard IF practice). PARK7 is predominantly intracellular and has no annotated transmembrane segment, so permeabilise sufficiently to access cytoplasmic and nuclear epitopes while preserving morphology (UniProt Q99497 subcellular location and topology; standard IF practice). Include single-label and no-primary controls to check bleed-through and background (standard IF practice). The IHC caption supplies no IF/ICC fixation or antibody validation conditions (datasheet M00757-4).
How do I separate diffuse PARK7 staining from chromogenic background?
The catalog tissue image used 10% goat serum blocking, 2 μg/ml primary antibody overnight at 4°C, and an HRP-based DAB readout (datasheet M00757-4). Compare a no-primary section and a matched section receiving the full staining sequence before treating diffuse brown signal as PARK7 (standard IHC practice). Include a peroxidase block and inspect the no-primary section for residual endogenous enzyme activity; these are general chromogenic workflow checks (standard IHC practice). If background persists, optimise blocking, washes and primary concentration one variable at a time (standard IHC practice). Evaluate cytoplasmic and nuclear signal in intact cells against the reported tissue distribution (HPA tissue IHC; standard IHC practice).
What should I quantify when comparing PARK7 across tissue sections? ⚠ ANSWER MARKED FOR VERIFICATION
Define the cell population and compartment before scoring, because PARK7 can stain cytoplasm and nuclei in tissue IHC (HPA tissue IHC). For comparable areas, report an H-score or the percentage of positive cells for each compartment, with the scoring threshold set using controls (standard IHC practice). If counting positive cells, express density per mm² of viable tissue or report positives as a percentage of all evaluable cells in the same population (standard IHC practice). Normalise comparisons to tissue area or cell count, as appropriate, and keep staining, imaging and threshold settings consistent (standard IHC practice). Exclude necrosis and section edges before calculating scores (standard IHC practice).
Which findings would make a PARK7-positive result convincing?
A convincing result shows reproducible staining in intact cells, with cytoplasmic and possibly nuclear localisation consistent with reported tissue IHC (HPA tissue IHC; standard IHC practice). High staining in hippocampal glial cells or pancreatic exocrine glandular cells has tissue-level support, although the HPA assessment reports only medium consistency with RNA data (HPA tissue IHC). Investigate signal confined to section edges, necrotic regions or an implausible compartment before interpreting it as PARK7 (standard IHC practice; UniProt Q99497 subcellular location). Check a no-primary section for DAB signal from endogenous enzyme activity or other background (standard IHC practice). Interpret shifts toward nuclear staining alongside specimen context and matched processing (UniProt Q99497 subcellular location; standard IHC practice).
Boster reagents

Best PARK7 / Parkinson disease protein 7 IHC Antibodies

Anti-PARK7 antibodies have IHC images from human tumor and mouse pancreas paraffin sections, plus IF/ICC images from HeLa and SK-OV-3 cells (catalog image captions).

Real IHC data IHC analysis of PARK7/DJ1 using anti-PARK7/DJ1 antibody (M00757-4). PARK7/DJ1 was detected in a paraffin-embedded section of human endometrial carcinoma tissue. Heat mediated antigen retrieval was performed in EDTA buffer (pH 8.0, epitope retrieval solution). The tissue section was blocked with 10% goat serum. The tissue section was then incubated with 2 μg/ml mouse anti-PARK7/DJ1 Antibody (M00757-4) overnight at 4°C. Peroxidase Conjugated Goat Anti-mouse IgG was used as secondary antibody and incubated for 30 minutes at 37°C. The tissue section was developed using HRP Conjugated Mouse IgG Super Vision Assay Kit (Catalog # SV0001) with DAB as the chromogen.
Anti-PARK7/DJ1 Antibody ® (monoclonal, 4B10)
Cat # M00757-4
Real IHC data Anti-PARK7 vendor antibody, PB9308, IHC(P) IHC(P): Mouse Pancreas Tissue
Anti-PARK7/DJ1 Antibody ®
Cat # PB9308
Real IHC data Immunohistochemical analysis of paraffin-embedded human bladder cancer, using PARK7 Antibody.
Anti-PARK7/Dj 1 Rabbit Monoclonal Antibody
Cat # M00757

M00757 has a human bladder cancer paraffin-section IHC image; M00757-4 has human endometrial carcinoma paraffin-section IHC and HeLa IF/ICC images (respective catalog image captions). PB9308 has mouse pancreas IHC and SK-OV-3 IF/ICC images; its catalog also lists human and rat reactivity (PB9308 image captions; catalog reactivity).

Which to pick: For human tissue IHC, choose M00757-4 when a documented starting condition helps: its paraffin-section caption reports EDTA retrieval at pH 8.0 and 2 µg/ml primary antibody; the fixative is unreported (M00757-4 IHC caption). For IF/ICC, M00757-4 has a HeLa image and PB9308 has a SK-OV-3 image (respective IF captions). For cross-species tissue IHC, PB9308 lists human, mouse and rat reactivity and shows mouse and rat pancreas IHC; M00757 is a rabbit monoclonal with listed human, mouse and rat reactivity and a human bladder cancer IHC image (PB9308 catalog reactivity and IHC captions; M00757 catalog host, clone, reactivity and IHC caption).

Each figure is that product's own IHC / IF validation image from its datasheet.

References

  1. UniProt Consortium. UniProt entry Q99497 (PARK7_HUMAN, Parkinson disease protein 7).
  2. Human Protein Atlas. PARK7 tissue IHC expression (reliability: Supported).
  3. Human Protein Atlas. PARK7 subcellular location (ICC-IF): Mainly localized to the nucleoplasm and cytosol. In addition localized to the flagellar centriole and mid piece..
  4. Human Protein Atlas. PARK7 antibody validation summary (2 antibodies).
  5. Identification of differentially expressed proteins in the injured lung from zinc chloride smoke inhalation based on proteomics analysis. Respiratory research 2019 — PMC6377712.
  6. Uncovering suitable reference proteins for expression studies in human adipose tissue with relevance to obesity. PloS one 2012 — PMC3260266.
  7. Evaluation of expression profiles of APOA4, CEACAM1, CD147, DJ-1/PARK7, Gamma-synuclein, S100A1, and Stathmin-1 in urothelial carcinomas using immunohistochemical assays. Frontiers in oncology 2025 — PMC12678078.
  8. STUB1 suppresses paclitaxel resistance in ovarian cancer through mediating HOXB3 ubiquitination to inhibit PARK7 expression. Communications biology 2024 — PMC11538469.
  9. PubMed PMID:9070310 — UniProt-cited evidence.
  10. PubMed PMID:14702039 — UniProt-cited evidence.
  11. PubMed PMID:16710414 — UniProt-cited evidence.