This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.
- Table of Contents
Plan PHB2 paraffin-section IHC around its granular cytoplasmic tissue pattern (HPA tissue IHC). Compare high-staining glandular cells with low-staining adipocytes when assessing signal (HPA tissue IHC).
Expected localisation, validated protocols, controls and antibodies — the at-a-glance facts below, then the full design guide.
| Expected localisation | Granular cytoplasmic staining in tissue (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Staining pattern | Widespread granular cytoplasmic staining (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Antigen retrieval | EDTA pH 8.0 HIER, heat-mediated (datasheet M03315) | |
| Positive control | Adrenal gland+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); optimize empirically. | |
| Caveat | Adipocytes may stain weakly despite broad tissue expression (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Regulation | Staining-intensity regulation is unreported (UniProt) | |
| Isoform / epitope | 2 isoforms; epitope differences are unreported (UniProt) |
The catalog antibody’s IHC-P protocol is followed by three published PHB2 chromogenic IHC protocols (datasheet M03315; PMC5343968; PMC3958913; PMC5567385).
| Sample | Paraffin-embedded human gallbladder adenocarcinoma tissue; fixative not specified (datasheet M03315) |
| Fixation | Image fixative and duration unreported (datasheet M03315); 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 M03315); 20 min, 95–100 °C (standard) |
| Peroxidase block | 3% H2O2, 10 min, room temperature (standard) |
| Blocking | 10% goat serum (datasheet M03315) |
| Primary antibody | Mouse monoclonal (clone 2B5) anti-PHB2, 2μg/ml (datasheet M03315) |
| Primary incubation | Overnight at 4 °C (datasheet M03315) |
| Detection | Streptavidin-biotin complex (SABC), DAB chromogen (datasheet M03315) |
| Counterstain | Hematoxylin, blue, dehydrate and mount (standard) |
| Expected result | PHB2-positive staining in glandular cells of adrenal gland (HPA tissue IHC: High). HPA tissue profile: Ubiquitous cytoplasmic expression with a granular pattern. No signal in the no-primary control. |
PHB2 is chiefly associated with the mitochondrial inner membrane and can also occur in the cytoplasm, nucleus and cell membrane; UniProt annotates no transmembrane segment (UniProt Q99623 localization and topology). In paraffin tissue sections, expect granular cytoplasmic staining across many cell types, with strong staining in selected cells (HPA: ubiquitous granular cytoplasmic profile; tissue IHC reliability Supported, with medium consistency against RNA expression).
| Granular cytoplasmic staining in glandular cells or cardiomyocytes. | This fits the reported tissue pattern and mitochondrial localization (HPA: granular cytoplasm; UniProt Q99623 localization). Adrenal, breast and endometrial glandular cells, and heart cardiomyocytes, are recorded as High (HPA: tissue IHC). Judge the pattern within identified cells, since a strongly stained structure alone does not establish which cell type produced the signal. |
| Predominantly nuclear staining, or a smooth membrane outline, with little granular cytoplasm. | Reconsider antibody specificity and slide conditions: neither is the dominant tissue IHC appearance (HPA: granular cytoplasm). Nuclear and cell membrane localization are annotated, so those compartments alone cannot prove artefact (UniProt Q99623 localization). A nuclear pattern may also depend on cell state: UniProt describes mostly nuclear PHB2 in differentiated primary myoblasts (UniProt Q99623). |
| Strong staining confined to an unexpected cell population, while expected cells lack signal. | Check cell identification and controls before calling cross-reactivity or endogenous detection activity (general IHC practice). PHB2 has low tissue specificity, and HPA lists no negative tissue group; unexpected cells are therefore not automatically true negatives (HPA: low tissue specificity; negative list empty). Compare the cellular pattern with the reported granular cytoplasm (HPA: tissue IHC). |
| Diffuse color across cells and surrounding section, obscuring granules. | Treat this as background until a clean cellular pattern is resolved (general IHC practice). Uneven blocking, excess antibody or endogenous detection activity are possible workflow causes, not established PHB2 properties (general IHC practice). Reassess with appropriate control sections and detection controls; diffuse color cannot by itself confirm mitochondrial PHB2 (HPA: granular cytoplasmic tissue pattern; mitochondrial ICC-IF localization). |
| No discernible signal in a section selected for strong PHB2 staining. | First confirm that the relevant cells are present: HPA reports High staining in bronchial respiratory epithelium, appendix, colon and duodenal endocrine cells, and several other listed populations (HPA: tissue IHC). Then review the assay and controls (general IHC practice). HPA's Supported rating and medium RNA agreement make these useful comparators, not guarantees for every specimen (HPA: reliability). |
| Cell population and comparator tissue | Choose a documented High population as a positive comparator, such as breast glandular cells or heart cardiomyocytes (HPA: tissue IHC). Adipocytes, chondrocytes and epididymal glandular cells are listed as Low, not absent; they are weak comparators rather than proven negative controls (HPA: tissue IHC). |
| Compartment and cell state | Mitochondrial localization supports a granular cytoplasmic reading (UniProt Q99623 localization; HPA: mitochondrial ICC-IF). UniProt also records nuclear and other locations, including a shift toward nuclear localization in differentiated primary myoblasts; assess unusual compartments in their cellular context (UniProt Q99623). |
| Antibody evidence and interpretation limit | HPA lists IHC as Supported for HPA039874, CAB014889 and CAB026335; it does not list these IHC results as Enhanced (HPA: antibody validation). The tissue profile itself has medium consistency with RNA data, so staining pattern and controls remain relevant to each specimen (HPA: tissue reliability). |
| Detection chemistry | With chromogenic IHC, endogenous activity or nonspecific detection can contribute color independent of target binding; use an appropriate detection control when the pattern is diffuse or unexpected (general IHC practice). This is a general workflow consideration, not an HPA or UniProt claim about PHB2. |
| IF/ICC Q&A: should mitochondrial fluorescence appear? | Yes: HPA summarizes ICC-IF localization as mitochondrial, and HPA039874 has Enhanced ICC evidence (HPA: subcellular summary; antibody validation). Interpret that as support for an IF localization check, not as an IHC-P protocol or evidence that every tissue section will show a resolved mitochondrial network. |
| Situation | Likely cause | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| High-background chromogen masks the expected granules. | Nonspecific detection, excess primary antibody or endogenous activity may obscure cellular staining (general IHC practice). | Review the detection control, blocking and antibody titration, then look again for cell-bound granules (general IHC practice; HPA: granular cytoplasmic profile). |
| A documented High cell population appears unstained. | The relevant cells may be absent from the section, or a staining step may have failed (general IHC practice). | Verify cell identity and a positive comparator; review retrieval, primary antibody and detection steps as general IHC checks. HPA High is an observed level, not a guarantee for each specimen (HPA: tissue IHC). |
| Staining is mainly nuclear in a tissue section. | It differs from the dominant tissue IHC profile, although nuclear PHB2 is annotated (HPA: granular cytoplasm; UniProt Q99623 localization). | Confirm the cellular context and inspect controls and granular cytoplasmic signal before assigning the nuclear color to PHB2 (general IHC practice; HPA: tissue IHC). |
| Only Low-listed cells stain faintly. | Weak staining may agree with the reported Low level; those cells are not documented as negative (HPA: adipocytes, chondrocytes and epididymal glandular cells Low). | Compare a documented High population on a suitable control section before interpreting a faint result as assay failure (HPA: tissue IHC; general IHC practice). |
| Unexpected cells stain strongly while expected cells do not. | Cell misidentification, cross-reactivity or endogenous detection activity are possibilities; widespread PHB2 expression also limits inference from cell type alone (general IHC practice; HPA: low tissue specificity). | Recheck morphology, compare the reported granular pattern and inspect detection controls; avoid calling an unlisted cell population PHB2-negative by default (HPA: tissue IHC; general IHC practice). |
| IF/ICC shows diffuse fluorescence instead of a mitochondrial pattern. | The result differs from HPA's mitochondrial ICC-IF summary, but does not establish a specific cause (HPA: subcellular summary). | Check IF controls and compare with a mitochondrial marker as a general localization check; use the separate IF/ICC guide for assay design (general IF practice; HPA: mitochondrial ICC-IF localization). |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adrenal gland | Glandular cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Appendix | Endocrine cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Breast | Glandular cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Bronchus | Respiratory epithelial cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Colon | Endocrine cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Tissue | Cell type | Level | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| None in HPA: PHB2 is detected in all 45 scored tissues. Use a no-primary (secondary-only) and an isotype control instead. | ||||
Troubleshoot PHB2 staining in paraffin sections by checking retrieval, compartment pattern, controls and scoring before interpreting biological differences.
Anti-PHB2 antibodies have IHC images from human tumors and mouse and rat intestine, plus an IF image from A431 cells (catalog image captions).
M03315 has IHC images from paraffin sections of human gallbladder, ovarian, renal, and lung cancers (M03315 IHC captions). A03315-3 has IHC images from human mammary and rectal cancers and mouse and rat intestine, plus an IF image from A431 cells (A03315-3 image captions).
Which to pick: For human tissue IHC, M03315 is a mouse monoclonal, clone 2B5, with human paraffin-section examples (catalog; M03315 IHC captions). For cross-species tissue IHC, A03315-3 has paraffin-section images from human, mouse, and rat samples; its own IHC captions report EDTA pH 8 retrieval and 2 μg/ml primary antibody (A03315-3 IHC captions). Choose A03315-3 for IF/ICC because those applications are listed and its IF image shows A431 cells; neither antibody’s IHC caption reports the tissue fixative (catalog; A03315-3 IF caption; IHC captions).