RUVBL1 / RuvB-like 1 · IHC design guide

Design Immunohistochemistry for RUVBL1

Plan chromogenic RUVBL1 IHC around variable cytoplasmic staining, with high signal in bronchial and fallopian tube ciliated cells and testis pachytene spermatocytes (HPA tissue IHC). Start with the catalog antibody’s 2–5 μg/ml IHC range (datasheet A02049-2), then score staining by cell type.

Evidence assembled Oct 2026 · For research use; verify linked source records and product datasheet before use
Immunohistochemistry protocol sheet for RUVBL1 (IHC for RUVBL1): expected localisation Cytoplasmic tissue stain (HPA tissue IHC); mainly nuclear by annotation (UniProt), antibody A02049-2, validated IHC image, and IHC protocol steps
Printable RUVBL1 IHC protocol sheet — expected localisation Cytoplasmic tissue stain (HPA tissue IHC); mainly nuclear by annotation (UniProt), antibody A02049-2, controls and protocol steps. Open the full RUVBL1 IHC guide →

RUVBL1 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 tissue stain (HPA tissue IHC); mainly nuclear by annotation (UniProt)
Staining pattern Variable cytoplasmic staining in most tissues (HPA tissue IHC)
Antigen retrieval EDTA pH 8.0 HIER, heat-mediated (datasheet A02049-2)
Positive control ⓘ Bronchus+4 more · see all
Negative control ⓘ Adipose tissue+4 more · see all
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 A02049-2)
Caveat Skeletal myocytes lack detectable IHC despite high tissue expression (HPA tissue IHC; UniProt tissue specificity)
Regulation High in testis pachytene spermatocytes (HPA tissue IHC)
Isoform / epitope 2 isoforms; epitope coverage is unspecified (UniProt)
Section 1

Recommended RUVBL1 IHC & IF Protocols

The catalog antibody has an IHC-P protocol (A02049-2 datasheet). The published options below report RUVBL1 staining in paraffin-embedded cancer tissues (PMC9899616; PMC11011037; PMC9569266).

Recommended immunohistochemistry (IHC-P) protocol parameters
SampleParaffin-embedded human colorectal adenocarcinoma tissue; fixative not specified (datasheet A02049-2)
FixationImage fixative and duration unreported (datasheet A02049-2); 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 A02049-2); 20 min, 95–100 °C (standard)
Peroxidase block3% H2O2, 10 min, room temperature (standard)
Blocking10% goat serum (datasheet A02049-2)
Primary antibodyRabbit anti-RUVBL1, 2-5 μg/ml (datasheet A02049-2)
Primary incubationOvernight at 4 °C (datasheet A02049-2)
DetectionHRP-conjugated secondary, DAB chromogen (datasheet A02049-2)
CounterstainHematoxylin, blue, dehydrate and mount (standard)
Expected resultRUVBL1-positive staining in ciliated cells (cell body) of bronchus (HPA tissue IHC: High). HPA tissue profile: Cytoplasmic expression at variable levels in most tissues. No signal in the no-primary control.
💡Decision noteStart with heat-mediated EDTA retrieval at pH 8.0 (A02049-2 datasheet); the published excerpts do not specify retrieval conditions.
Section 2

What Is the Expected RUVBL1 Staining Pattern?

In paraffin-section IHC, expect variable cytoplasmic RUVBL1 staining across most tissues, including strong staining in bronchial and fallopian-tube ciliated cells and testis pachytene spermatocytes (HPA: tissue IHC, Enhanced reliability). Nuclear staining is biologically plausible because RUVBL1 is mainly nuclear, with cytoplasmic localization also reported; it has no transmembrane segment (UniProt Q9Y265: subcellular location and topology).

What am I looking at on my slide?
Clear cytoplasmic staining in bronchial or fallopian-tube ciliated cell bodies, or in testis pachytene spermatocytes (HPA: High in each cell population).This matches the reported strong-cell examples for tissue IHC. Compare staining within the named cell population, since the HPA profile describes variable cytoplasmic expression across most tissues rather than uniform staining of every cell (HPA: tissue IHC profile).
A section shows nuclear staining with little of the expected cytoplasmic pattern (HPA: tissue IHC profile).Assess tissue identity, morphology and controls before calling it an artefact: nuclear RUVBL1 is plausible (UniProt Q9Y265: mainly nuclear), and ICC-IF supports nucleoplasm and nuclear speckles (HPA: subcellular). Those observations do not establish that a nuclear-only paraffin IHC pattern is validated.
Strong staining appears mainly in adipocytes or skeletal-muscle myocytes (HPA: Not detected in these cells).This conflicts with the supplied HPA tissue IHC observations and warrants a specificity check; cross-reactivity or endogenous chromogenic detection activity are possible explanations, not diagnoses. UniProt reports high skeletal-muscle expression, so the IHC result alone cannot settle the discrepancy (UniProt Q9Y265: tissue specificity).
Diffuse color covers cells and extracellular spaces, obscuring compartment boundaries.Treat the slide as difficult to interpret until background is controlled. Review the no-primary control for detection-system signal, then optimize blocking, washes and antibody concentration as general IHC practice; diffuse color alone cannot establish RUVBL1 localization (standard IHC practice).
No signal appears in bronchial or fallopian-tube ciliated cells, or testis pachytene spermatocytes (HPA: High in each cell population).A negative result in these reference populations raises a run-level or specimen-level question before it supports absence of RUVBL1. Confirm that the named cells are present and evaluate the positive control and detection steps (standard IHC practice; HPA: tissue IHC).
💡Expected RUVBL1 appearanceA credible positive IHC result has clear, cell-bounded cytoplasmic staining of variable intensity, reaching high levels in the named ciliated cells or pachytene spermatocytes; diffuse field-wide color or strong staining confined to an HPA-undetected cell population is suspect (HPA: tissue IHC).
How each factor affects the staining
Which compartment should IHC scoring use?Use the observed paraffin IHC profile as the primary comparison: cytoplasmic expression at variable levels in most tissues (HPA: tissue IHC). UniProt also places RUVBL1 mainly in the nucleus and partly in the cytoplasm, so compartment alone is insufficient to judge specificity (UniProt Q9Y265: subcellular location).
Does IF/ICC predict the paraffin IHC appearance?IF/ICC supports nucleoplasm and nuclear speckles, with cytosol and basal body as additional sites (HPA: subcellular ICC-IF). This is useful context for a nuclear signal, but it is a different assay from the cytoplasmic tissue IHC profile and does not supply a paraffin IHC protocol.
How strong is the tissue-pattern evidence?HPA labels tissue IHC reliability Enhanced while describing medium consistency between antibody staining and RNA expression; both listed antibodies have Enhanced IHC validation (HPA: tissue IHC reliability and antibody validation). Use the named cell observations as references, while allowing the reported variation between tissues.
Can an HPA-undetected cell serve as an absolute negative?No signal was detected in the listed adipocytes, skeletal-muscle myocytes and several other named populations under the reported tissue IHC observations (HPA: tissue IHC). That observation is useful for comparison, but it does not prove biological absence; UniProt reports high skeletal-muscle expression (UniProt Q9Y265: tissue specificity).
Do protein features establish a fixation adjustment?UniProt lists two isoforms and no transmembrane segment, signal peptide or propeptide (UniProt Q9Y265: isoforms, topology and processing). The supplied sources give no antibody epitope or target-specific fixation-sensitivity result, so they do not justify an isoform-specific score or a RUVBL1-specific retrieval setting.
Why is my staining missing, weak or wrong?
SituationLikely causeNext action
Known high-staining reference cells are blank (HPA: High in bronchial and fallopian-tube ciliated cells and testis pachytene spermatocytes).The named cells may be absent from the section, or a staining step may have failed; the slide alone cannot distinguish these possibilities (standard IHC practice).Confirm the cells on the counterstained section, check a concurrent positive control, then review antibody dilution, retrieval and detection against the assay's validated procedure (standard IHC practice).
Nuclear staining dominates a paraffin section.Nuclear localization is plausible (UniProt Q9Y265: mainly nuclear; HPA: ICC-IF nucleoplasm and speckles), though HPA's tissue IHC summary emphasizes cytoplasm.Record nuclear and cytoplasmic signal separately, compare the named reference cells and controls, and avoid assigning a validated nuclear-only IHC pattern from ICC-IF data (HPA: tissue IHC and subcellular).
An HPA-undetected cell population stains strongly (HPA: tissue IHC).Cross-reactivity or endogenous chromogenic activity is possible; differences between tissue IHC and expression evidence may also matter for skeletal muscle (UniProt Q9Y265: tissue specificity).Check morphology and a no-primary control, then compare another validated antibody where available; report the disagreement rather than forcing a negative interpretation (standard IHC practice; HPA: antibody validation).
Brown color appears broadly outside recognizable cells.Background from the detection system, insufficient blocking or excessive antibody concentration can obscure localization (standard chromogenic IHC practice).Inspect the no-primary control; review endogenous-activity blocking, reagent concentration and washes, then rescore only where cell boundaries and compartments remain readable (standard IHC practice).
Signal is patchy across one section.HPA reports variable tissue staining, but the supplied sources do not establish a RUVBL1-specific fixation effect (HPA: tissue IHC profile).First compare the same named cell type across intact areas and inspect section quality; evaluate processing and retrieval as general assay checks without attributing the patchiness to RUVBL1-specific epitope masking (standard IHC practice).
An IF/ICC image and a paraffin IHC slide appear to disagree.The supplied observations emphasize different compartments: nuclear sites in ICC-IF and variable cytoplasmic staining in tissue IHC (HPA: subcellular and tissue IHC).Interpret each result against its own assay and cell context; use controls to assess the IHC slide and do not transfer an IF/ICC appearance or workflow into paraffin IHC scoring (HPA: subcellular and tissue IHC; standard IHC practice).

Sample controls for RUVBL1 IHC & IF

🧪Run bronchus first: ciliated cell bodies should stain (HPA: High in bronchus ciliated cells). Run adipose tissue as the negative comparison (HPA: Not detected in adipocytes); on the bronchus slide, assess staining outside the ciliated cells as background, without assuming neighboring cells are validated negatives.
Positive control tissue: Bronchus (Ciliated cells (cell body), HPA High)
Negative control tissue: Adipose tissue (HPA Not detected)
ICC-IF cell lines (HPA subcellular resource): HPA ICC-IF images show RUVBL1 in A-431, U-251MG, U2OS, ASC52telo, RPTEC/TERT1, hTERT-RPE1 (serum starved), with annotated localisation: Nucleoplasm (supported), Nuclear speckles (supported) (HPA subcellular).
Technical controls: Include a no-primary, secondary-only control and nonimmune rabbit IgG matched to the primary antibody’s format (hero caption: rabbit primary). Use RUVBL1 knockout material as a biological negative, if available, and block endogenous peroxidase before chromogenic detection in bronchus sections (standard IHC practice).
⚠️Feasibility: A target-specific fixation window and fixation effect are unreported, and the selected A02049-2 tissue-IHC caption does not state a fixative (hero caption: fixative not stated). The caption uses heat retrieval in EDTA at pH 8.0 on a paraffin colorectal adenocarcinoma section, but does not establish that retrieval is required in bronchus (hero caption: EDTA pH 8.0); whether frozen sections or IF would be easier is unreported. Assess bronchial background carefully around the ciliated epithelium, including possible tissue autofluorescence if using IF (standard IF practice).

HPA tissue IHC evidence for RUVBL1

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.

Positive expression · recommended positive controls

TissueCell typeLevelEvidenceSource
Bronchus Ciliated cells (cell body) High Protein (IHC) HPA →
Fallopian tube Ciliated cells (cell body) High Protein (IHC) HPA →
Testis Pachytene spermatocytes High Protein (IHC) HPA →
Appendix Glandular cells Medium Protein (IHC) HPA →
Breast Glandular cells Medium Protein (IHC) HPA →

Undetected expression · recommended negative controls

TissueCell typeLevelEvidenceSource
Adipose tissue Adipocytes Not detected Protein (IHC) HPA →
Caudate Glial cells Not detected Protein (IHC) HPA →
Cerebellum Cells in granular layer Not detected Protein (IHC) HPA →
Parathyroid gland Glandular cells Not detected Protein (IHC) HPA →
Salivary gland Glandular cells Not detected Protein (IHC) HPA →
Section 3

Advanced RUVBL1 IHC Tips

Troubleshoot RUVBL1 staining in paraffin sections by checking retrieval, compartment pattern, controls, and scoring before interpreting chromogenic signal.

Which retrieval conditions should I use when RUVBL1 staining is weak?
Start with heat-mediated retrieval in EDTA at pH 8.0 (datasheet A02049-2). The selected paraffin-section image used this retrieval before overnight incubation at 4°C with 2 μg/ml catalog antibody (datasheet A02049-2). If staining remains weak, compare a carefully controlled alternative retrieval buffer on adjacent sections while keeping antibody concentration and detection constant (standard IHC practice). Include a positive-control section, such as testis containing pachytene spermatocytes, when available (HPA: high in pachytene spermatocytes). Compare cell-specific signal with background and tissue preservation; stronger overall DAB colour alone does not establish improved retrieval (standard IHC practice).
Can I infer an optimal fixative for RUVBL1 from the tissue image?
No fixative is reported for the selected paraffin-section image, so target-specific fixation sensitivity is unknown (datasheet A02049-2). Record the fixative and processing history for each specimen, and compare sections processed together when troubleshooting inconsistent staining (standard IHC practice). Begin with EDTA retrieval at pH 8.0, then assess whether staining changes across specimens with different documented processing histories (datasheet A02049-2; standard IHC practice). Check morphology and a matched positive-control section before adjusting the 2 μg/ml primary concentration used in the image (datasheet A02049-2; standard IHC practice). Do not assign weak signal to fixation alone without those comparisons (standard IHC practice).
How should I assess nuclear and cytoplasmic RUVBL1 staining?
Score nuclear and cytoplasmic DAB separately because RUVBL1 is mainly nuclear by UniProt annotation, while tissue IHC reports variable cytoplasmic expression (UniProt Q9Y265 localisation; HPA: tissue profile). Nuclear localisation includes nucleoplasm and nuclear speckles in cell imaging (HPA: subcellular), although chromogenic sections may not resolve speckles (standard IHC practice). Examine intact cells away from section edges and compare the signal with a nuclear counterstain before assigning a compartment (standard IHC practice). Centrosomal or spindle-associated localisation is described during mitosis, so consider cell-cycle context for a convincing focal pattern (UniProt Q9Y265 localisation). Record mixed patterns rather than forcing every positive cell into one compartment (standard IHC practice).
Could isoforms or epitope accessibility explain uneven staining?
RUVBL1 has 2 listed isoforms, but the supplied antibody caption does not identify its epitope or establish isoform coverage (UniProt Q9Y265 isoforms; datasheet A02049-2). Do not attribute a missing compartment or patchy staining to one isoform without epitope information and independent validation (standard IHC practice). The annotated protein has no transmembrane segment, signal peptide, or propeptide; its listed chain spans residues 1–456 (UniProt Q9Y265 topology and processing). Lysine 453 is an annotated acetylation site, but no supplied evidence shows that this modification changes antibody binding (UniProt Q9Y265 modified residues). Compare adjacent sections under matched retrieval and detection conditions before proposing an epitope-specific explanation (standard IHC practice).
How can I check an unexpected IHC pattern with multiplex IF?
Use IF as an independent localisation check, keeping the chromogenic IHC result anchored to the selected paraffin-section method (datasheet A02049-2; standard IHC practice). Multiplex RUVBL1 with a validated marker for the expected cell type, plus a nuclear counterstain, to distinguish cellular identity from compartment signal (standard IF practice). Choose spectrally separated fluorophores, favouring a red or far-red channel when tissue autofluorescence obscures shorter wavelengths (standard IF practice). Optimise permeabilisation to expose intracellular nuclear and cytosolic epitopes; RUVBL1 has no annotated transmembrane segment (UniProt Q9Y265 topology; standard IF practice). Include single-colour and no-primary controls before comparing IF localisation with DAB staining (standard IF practice).
What should I change when DAB appears throughout the section?
Compare a no-primary control with the stained section to identify signal from detection reagents or endogenous peroxidase (standard IHC practice). Apply a peroxidase block before HRP and DAB detection, and check whether the background follows damaged tissue, section edges, or all cell types (standard IHC practice). The selected image used 10% goat serum blocking, 2 μg/ml primary antibody overnight at 4°C, and a 30-minute secondary incubation at 37°C (datasheet A02049-2). If diffuse staining persists, compare primary concentrations around the documented condition using matched sections and identical development (standard IHC practice). Preserve a positive-control section in that comparison so lower background is not mistaken for a successful stain when specific signal disappears (standard IHC practice).
How should I quantify RUVBL1 across sections with mixed localisation? ⚠ ANSWER MARKED FOR VERIFICATION
Define the cell population and score nuclear and cytoplasmic staining separately before comparing specimens (standard IHC practice; UniProt Q9Y265 localisation). An H-score combines the percentage of cells at each intensity, while percentage-positive cells reports the fraction above a predefined threshold (standard IHC practice). For a spatial question, report positive-cell density per mm² of viable tissue and exclude empty or necrotic areas (standard IHC practice). Normalise cell counts to the number of eligible cells, or density to the measured viable area, using the same rule for every section (standard IHC practice). Fix exposure, counterstain review, scoring thresholds, and control criteria before examining group differences (standard IHC practice).
What makes a RUVBL1-positive cell convincing rather than an artefact?
A convincing result has cellular signal in preserved tissue, a plausible nuclear or cytoplasmic pattern, and low staining in its no-primary control (UniProt Q9Y265 localisation; HPA: tissue profile; standard IHC practice). Check identity carefully: HPA reports high staining in testis pachytene spermatocytes, but no detection in skeletal-muscle myocytes (HPA: tissue IHC). Strong DAB confined to cut edges, necrotic regions, or a peroxidase-positive control pattern needs investigation before biological interpretation (standard IHC practice). Nuclear signal can be plausible even though the HPA tissue profile emphasises cytoplasm, because cell imaging supports nucleoplasmic and nuclear-speckle localisation (HPA: tissue profile; HPA: subcellular). Resolve disagreements with matched controls and separately recorded compartment scores (standard IHC practice).
Boster reagents

Best RUVBL1 / RuvB-like 1 IHC Antibodies

A02049-2 has RUVBL1 IHC images from human colorectal, thyroid and lung cancers and spleen (catalog: IHC captions), plus IF images from A549 cells and human colon cancer tissue (catalog: IF captions).

Real IHC data IHC analysis of TIP49A/RUVBL1 using anti-TIP49A/RUVBL1 antibody (A02049-2). TIP49A/RUVBL1 was detected in a paraffin-embedded section of human colorectal adenocarcinoma 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 rabbit anti-TIP49A/RUVBL1 Antibody (A02049-2) overnight at 4°C. Peroxidase Conjugated Goat Anti-rabbit IgG was used as secondary antibody and incubated for 30 minutes at 37°C. The tissue section was developed using HRP Conjugated Rabbit IgG Super Vision Assay Kit (Catalog # SV0002) with DAB as the chromogen.
Anti-TIP49A/RUVBL1 Antibody ®
Cat # A02049-2

A02049-2 shows staining in paraffin sections of human colorectal adenocarcinoma, thyroid cancer, lung adenocarcinoma and spleen (catalog: IHC captions). Its IF images show A549 cells and a paraffin section of human colon cancer (catalog: IF captions).

Which to pick: For tissue IHC, choose A02049-2: its paraffin-section images use EDTA retrieval at pH 8.0 and 2 μg/ml primary antibody; the fixative is unreported (catalog: IHC captions). For IF/ICC, the same SKU has A549-cell and human colon-section images at 5 μg/ml (catalog: IF captions). For cross-species work, A02049-2 lists Human, Monkey, Mouse and Rat reactivity, although its shown tissue images are human; it is rabbit-hosted, and clonality is unreported (catalog: reactivity; catalog: image captions; catalog: host and clone).

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

References

  1. UniProt Consortium. UniProt entry Q9Y265 (RUVB1_HUMAN, RuvB-like 1).
  2. Human Protein Atlas. RUVBL1 tissue IHC expression (reliability: Enhanced).
  3. Human Protein Atlas. RUVBL1 subcellular location (ICC-IF): Mainly localized to the nucleoplasm and nuclear speckles. In addition localized to the cytosol and basal body..
  4. Human Protein Atlas. RUVBL1 antibody validation summary (2 antibodies).
  5. Identification of a novel target of SETD1A histone methyltransferase and the clinical significance in pancreatic cancer. Cancer science 2023 — PMC9899616.
  6. Regulation of the β‑catenin/LEF‑1 pathway by the siRNA knockdown of RUVBL1 expression inhibits breast cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Oncology reports 2025 — PMC11667213.
  7. RUVBL1 in Clear-Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma: Unraveling Prognostic Significance and Correlation with HIF1A. Cancers 2024 — PMC11011037.
  8. High expression of RUVBL1 and HNRNPU is associated with poor overall survival in stage I and II non-small cell lung cancer patients. Discover oncology 2022 — PMC9569266.
  9. PubMed PMID:9588198 — UniProt-cited evidence.
  10. PubMed PMID:9813143 — UniProt-cited evidence.
  11. PubMed PMID:9774387 — UniProt-cited evidence.