This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.
- Table of Contents
SERPINB2 / Plasminogen activator inhibitor 2 · IHC design guide
Design Immunohistochemistry for SERPINB2
Plan chromogenic SERPINB2 IHC on paraffin sections with the human IHC-validated antibody at 0.5–1 μg/mL (datasheet). Use placental trophoblasts as a high-staining reference and interpret cytoplasmic signal with HPA's cross-gene caution in mind (HPA tissue IHC).
Evidence assembled Oct 2026 · For research use; verify linked source records and product datasheet before use
SERPINB2 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 in tissue (HPA tissue IHC); also secreted (UniProt) | |
| Staining pattern | Cytoplasmic trophoblasts and squamous epithelial cells (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Antigen retrieval | Citrate pH 6.0 HIER, 95–98 °C, 20 min (rule: cytoplasmic / membrane antigen) | |
| Positive control | Placenta+2 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 PB9355) | |
| Caveat | Signal may include protein from another gene (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Regulation | Expression regulation is not annotated (UniProt) | |
| Isoform / epitope | No isoforms or propeptide annotated; epitope location unknown (UniProt) |
Section 1
Recommended SERPINB2 IHC & IF Protocols
The catalog antibody protocol is followed by published SERPINB2 IHC methods for xenograft tumors and human lung adenocarcinoma (PMC4997607; PMC5710879).
| Sample | Tissue sections; selected-image fixative not specified (standard IHC workflow) |
| Fixation | Image fixative and duration unreported (datasheet PB9355); verify before use. |
| Sectioning | 4–5 µm sections on charged slides (standard) |
| Deparaffinisation | Xylene, graded ethanol series to water (standard) |
| Antigen retrieval | Heat-induced epitope retrieval in citrate buffer, pH 6.0, 20 min at 95–98 °C (standard rule: cytoplasmic / membrane antigen) |
| Peroxidase block | 3% H2O2, 10 min, room temperature (standard) |
| Blocking | 10% normal serum of the secondary host, 30 min, room temperature (standard) |
| Primary antibody | Rabbit anti-SERPINB2, 0.5-1μg/ml (datasheet PB9355) |
| Primary incubation | Overnight at 4 °C (standard) |
| Detection | HRP-polymer secondary, DAB chromogen 5–10 min (standard) |
| Counterstain | Hematoxylin, blue, dehydrate and mount (standard) |
| Expected result | SERPINB2-positive staining in trophoblastic cells of placenta (HPA tissue IHC: High). HPA tissue profile: Cytoplasmic expression in placenta and squamous epithelia. No signal in the no-primary control. |
💡Decision noteStart with citrate pH 6.0 HIER at 95–98 °C for 20 min (page retrieval setting); consider pH 9 retrieval if optimizing (PMC5710879).
Section 2
What Is the Expected SERPINB2 Staining Pattern?
Expect predominantly cytoplasmic SERPINB2 staining in placental trophoblastic cells, with weaker staining in esophageal squamous epithelial cells and skin basal-layer cells (HPA: tissue IHC). UniProt places SERPINB2 in the cytoplasm and extracellular space and lists no transmembrane segment (UniProt P05120: subcellular location and topology). HPA rates the tissue pattern Enhanced but notes only medium agreement with RNA data and possible staining of proteins from more than one gene (HPA: tissue IHC reliability).
| Strong cytoplasmic stain in placental trophoblastic cells, with medium stain in esophageal squamous epithelium. | This matches the clearest reported tissue pattern: placental trophoblastic cells are High and esophageal squamous epithelial cells are Medium (HPA: tissue IHC). Judge localisation within the named cells, alongside the counterstain, rather than calling a section positive from color alone (general IHC practice). |
| Signal is chiefly nuclear or forms a crisp plasma-membrane outline. | Neither pattern matches the reported cytoplasmic tissue profile or the absence of a transmembrane segment (HPA: tissue IHC; UniProt P05120: topology). Treat it as an unexpected result and check controls and detection background before assigning it to SERPINB2 (general IHC practice). |
| Strong stain appears in cells reported as undetected, such as adipocytes in adipose tissue. | HPA reports no detection in those adipocytes (HPA: tissue IHC). Unexpected cellular stain raises concern for antibody cross-reactivity or endogenous detection activity; HPA also cautions that the tissue stain may include proteins from more than one gene (HPA: reliability; general IHC practice). |
| Color covers stroma, empty spaces, and many unrelated cell types without clear cell boundaries. | A broad haze makes the reported cell-specific cytoplasmic pattern difficult to assess (HPA: tissue IHC). Check reagent-only controls for nonspecific detection or endogenous activity, then review blocking, washes, and chromogen development (general IHC practice). |
| No stain is visible in placental trophoblastic cells on a control section. | Placental trophoblastic cells are reported High, so a blank known-positive control makes a negative study section uninterpretable (HPA: tissue IHC; general IHC practice). Check section quality, antibody application, retrieval conditions, and detection reagents before interpreting absence of SERPINB2. |
💡Expected SERPINB2 appearanceCall a result positive when placental trophoblastic cells show strong, predominantly cytoplasmic stain; diffuse haze or strong stain in an HPA-undetected cell type is suspect (HPA: tissue IHC; general IHC practice).
| Tissue and cell choice | Placental trophoblastic cells provide the strongest reported positive reference; esophageal squamous cells are Medium, while skin basal-layer and tonsillar squamous cells are Low (HPA: tissue IHC). A weak result in the latter cells carries less weight than a blank placental control. |
| Compartment and extracellular protein | UniProt lists cytoplasmic and secreted, extracellular SERPINB2, with no transmembrane segment (UniProt P05120: location and topology). HPA's tissue readout is cytoplasmic, so extracellular color alone does not establish the expected cellular IHC pattern (HPA: tissue IHC). |
| Antibody validation | Two listed antibodies have Enhanced IHC status and one has Supported status; none has ICC status in the supplied list (HPA: antibody validation). HPA's tissue reliability note cautions that staining may include proteins from more than one gene (HPA: tissue IHC reliability). |
| IF/ICC localisation? | HPA supplies no main ICC-IF location or cell-line images here (HPA: subcellular record). Its IHC cytoplasmic pattern can guide an IF localisation check, but this record cannot establish an IF-positive cell line or an IF protocol (HPA: tissue IHC; HPA: subcellular record). |
| Situation | Likely cause | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| Placental positive control is blank. | An assay step may have failed; HPA reports High staining in trophoblastic cells (HPA: tissue IHC; general IHC practice). | Confirm the trophoblastic cells are present, then check antibody application, the chosen retrieval conditions, detection reagents, and counterstain on the control section (general IHC practice). |
| Study tissue is blank while placental control stains correctly. | Expression may be lower in the sampled cells; HPA reports Medium esophageal staining and Low skin basal-layer and tonsillar squamous staining (HPA: tissue IHC). | Identify the cell type before scoring and compare it with the reported level. Record an absent or below-detection result for that specimen without treating the valid placental control as a guarantee of local expression (HPA: tissue IHC; general IHC practice). |
| All cells show similar brown signal. | Diffuse background or endogenous detection activity may obscure the cell-specific pattern (general IHC practice; HPA: tissue IHC). | Inspect reagent-only controls, review the detection block, washes, and chromogen development, and score only interpretable cellular stain (general IHC practice). |
| Nuclear or membrane-edge staining dominates. | The compartment differs from HPA's cytoplasmic tissue profile and UniProt's topology (HPA: tissue IHC; UniProt P05120: topology). | Review the stained section beside a positive control and reagent-only control; report the localisation as unexpected unless a specific signal can be resolved (general IHC practice). |
| Strong stain appears in HPA-undetected adipocytes. | Cross-reactivity or endogenous activity is possible; HPA warns that its tissue stain may include proteins from more than one gene (HPA: tissue IHC reliability; general IHC practice). | Check detection controls and cell identity, then seek independent antibody or orthogonal evidence before attributing that stain to SERPINB2 (general IHC practice). |
| An IF/ICC image appears to contradict the IHC result. | This payload provides no HPA ICC-IF images or main subcellular location for comparison (HPA: subcellular record). | Describe the IF observation separately and assess it with its own controls; use the placental cytoplasmic IHC pattern only as a tissue reference (HPA: tissue IHC; general IHC practice). |
Experiment evidence
IHC & IF images showing SERPINB2 staining
PB9355 · IHCAnti-SerpinB2 vendor antibody, PB9355,IHC(P) IHC(P): Human Placenta Tissue
HPA · Cerebral cortexHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Cerebral cortex. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000197632-SERPINB2/tissue/cerebral+cortex#imid_20885319
HPA · ColonHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Colon. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000197632-SERPINB2/tissue/colon#imid_20886829
HPA · LiverHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Liver. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000197632-SERPINB2/tissue/liver#imid_20886830
HPA · KidneyHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Kidney. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000197632-SERPINB2/tissue/kidney#imid_20886823
← swipe / scroll for more images →
Real IHC / IF data behind the staining-pattern expectations in this section.
Sample controls for SERPINB2 IHC & IF
🧪Run placenta first: trophoblastic cells should stain (HPA: High in trophoblastic cells). Use adipose tissue as the negative tissue; adipocytes are listed as not detected (HPA: Not detected in adipocytes). On the placenta slide, compare trophoblastic staining with background in adjacent non-trophoblastic areas, without assuming those areas are antigen-negative (HPA: only trophoblastic cells are specified for placenta).
Positive control tissue: Placenta (Trophoblastic cells, HPA High)
Negative control tissue: Adipose tissue (HPA Not detected)
ICC-IF cell lines (HPA subcellular resource): HPA carries no ICC-IF cell line for SERPINB2; derive a cell-line control from the positive tissue's cell type (Trophoblastic cells) and confirm it by RNA or western blot first.
Technical controls: Include a no-primary, secondary-only control and nonimmune IgG matched to the primary antibody’s host species and clonality; use SERPINB2 knockout material or a peptide-block control when available (standard IHC practice). For chromogenic placenta IHC, quench endogenous peroxidase and control for endogenous biotin if using biotin-based detection (standard IHC practice).
⚠️Feasibility: A target-specific fixation window and retrieval dependency are unreported in the supplied evidence; the selected PB9355 placenta IHC-P caption does not state a fixative (selected-SKU caption: fixative not stated). The evidence does not establish whether frozen sections or IF/ICC are easier for SERPINB2 (HPA subcellular: no ICC-IF image cell lines listed). Placental endogenous peroxidase or biotin can cause background that complicates chromogenic interpretation (standard IHC practice).
HPA tissue IHC evidence for SERPINB2
Comprehensive Human Protein Atlas IHC scoring per tissue (reliability: Enhanced — Medium consistency between antibody staining and RNA expression data. Caution, targets protein from more than one gene.). Rows are taken directly from the HPA tissue chart — click any row's HPA link to view the source.
Positive expression · recommended positive controls
| Tissue | Cell type | Level | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Placenta | Trophoblastic cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Esophagus | Squamous epithelial cells | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Skin | Cells in basal layer | Low | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
Undetected expression · recommended negative controls
| Tissue | Cell type | Level | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adipose tissue | Adipocytes | Not detected | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Adrenal gland | Glandular cells | Not detected | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Appendix | Glandular cells | Not detected | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Bone marrow | Hematopoietic cells | Not detected | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Breast | Adipocytes | Not detected | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
Section 3
Advanced SERPINB2 IHC Tips
Troubleshoot SERPINB2 staining in chromogenic IHC of paraffin sections, using the placenta control and the reported cytoplasmic pattern to assess results (PB9355 tissue-IHC caption; HPA tissue IHC).
Which retrieval conditions should I try first for weak SERPINB2 staining?
Start with citrate pH 6.0 heat-induced retrieval at 95–98 °C for 20 min (page retrieval setting). Run a human placenta section alongside the test section, because placenta is the tissue shown for PB9355 and trophoblastic staining is reported as high (PB9355 tissue-IHC caption; HPA tissue IHC). If staining remains weak, compare a carefully controlled longer retrieval or an alternative buffer on adjacent sections, while keeping detection and exposure to chromogen constant (standard IHC practice). Excess retrieval can damage section morphology or increase diffuse signal, so judge any gain against preserved trophoblastic cell detail and a clean negative control (standard IHC practice; HPA tissue IHC).
Could fixation explain weak or uneven SERPINB2 staining?
SERPINB2-specific fixation sensitivity is unknown from the supplied evidence; the PB9355 placenta caption identifies paraffin IHC but does not state a fixative (PB9355 tissue-IHC caption). Record the fixative, time in fixative, processing history, and section age for each specimen before comparing staining intensity (standard IHC practice). Test adjacent sections with the same citrate pH 6.0, 95–98 °C, 20 min retrieval and identical chromogenic detection, changing only the variable under investigation (page retrieval setting; standard IHC practice). Use a similarly processed human placenta control to distinguish a batch-wide failure from a specimen-specific problem, without treating its staining pattern as evidence of fixation sensitivity (PB9355 tissue-IHC caption; standard IHC practice).
Should SERPINB2 stain cytoplasm, extracellular material, or both?
Assess cytoplasmic staining first: SERPINB2 is annotated in the cytoplasm, and HPA reports cytoplasmic expression in placenta and squamous epithelia (UniProt P05120 subcellular annotation; HPA tissue IHC). Secreted, extracellular localization is also annotated, so extracellular signal is possible, but its identity needs independent support in a paraffin section (UniProt P05120 subcellular annotation; standard IHC practice). The protein has no transmembrane segment, making a crisp cell-membrane outline an unexpected dominant pattern that warrants review of controls and detection background (UniProt P05120 topology; standard IHC practice). Compare candidate signal with trophoblastic cells in placenta and squamous epithelial cells in esophagus, while preserving anatomical boundaries during interpretation (HPA tissue IHC; standard IHC practice).
How do I troubleshoot discordant staining when the antibody epitope is unspecified?
The supplied record lists 0 isoforms and a single 1–415 chain, but it does not identify the PB9355 epitope (UniProt P05120 processing and isoforms; PB9355 tissue-IHC caption). SERPINB2 has annotated glycosylation sites at residues 75, 115, and 339; their effect on this antibody’s staining is unknown (UniProt P05120 glycosylation; PB9355 tissue-IHC caption). Compare adjacent sections with and without the stated citrate retrieval, using the same antibody lot and chromogenic detection to isolate retrieval-dependent changes (page retrieval setting; standard IHC practice). If patterns remain discordant, seek an independently validated antibody with a disclosed epitope and compare localization rather than assuming an unreported isoform explains the difference (standard IHC practice; UniProt P05120 isoforms).
How can IF help assess an ambiguous chromogenic IHC pattern?
Use IF as an orthogonal localization check, with an independently validated marker for trophoblastic cells when examining placenta, since HPA reports high SERPINB2 staining there (HPA tissue IHC; standard IF practice). Choose fluorophores after checking unstained tissue autofluorescence, and favor a spectrally separated channel when background obscures the SERPINB2 signal (standard IF practice). For a putative cytoplasmic epitope, permeabilize sufficiently to admit antibody; for a putative extracellular epitope, compare a condition without permeabilization (UniProt P05120 subcellular annotation; standard IF practice). The supplied PB9355 evidence is a paraffin tissue-IHC caption, so establish IF performance independently and use matched single-color controls to assess bleed-through (PB9355 tissue-IHC caption; standard IF practice).
What should I check when SERPINB2 chromogenic staining looks diffuse?
Run a no-primary control and inspect whether pigment persists in the same structures; persistent color points toward detection or tissue background (standard IHC practice). Include a peroxidase block before DAB development, and optimize blocking, antibody concentration, washing, and chromogen time one variable at a time (standard chromogenic IHC practice). Compare suspected signal with the cytoplasmic trophoblastic pattern reported in placenta, rather than counting all diffuse extracellular color as positive (HPA tissue IHC; UniProt P05120 subcellular annotation). Review cut edges, folds, and damaged regions separately, because their staining can be misleading; retain intact cell morphology as a criterion for scoring (standard IHC practice).
How should I quantify SERPINB2 staining across paraffin sections? ⚠ ANSWER MARKED FOR VERIFICATION
Define the cell population and anatomical region before scoring, using trophoblastic cells in placenta as a documented positive reference (HPA tissue IHC). Record percent positive cells and staining intensity by compartment, or calculate an H-score from intensity categories and their cell percentages (standard IHC quantification practice). Normalize positive counts to all evaluable cells of the same type, or report positive-cell density per mm² of viable, annotated tissue when cell counting is impractical (standard IHC quantification practice). Keep retrieval, antibody, detection, imaging, and thresholds consistent across compared sections, and exclude folds, cut edges, and necrotic areas from the denominator (standard IHC practice).
How can I distinguish true SERPINB2 staining from artefact?
A convincing positive follows intact cells and fits the reported cytoplasmic trophoblastic pattern in placenta, with squamous epithelial staining offering another contextual comparison (HPA tissue IHC). Treat dominant nuclear or sharply membranous staining cautiously, because the record lists cytoplasmic and secreted locations and no transmembrane segment (UniProt P05120 subcellular annotation and topology). Exclude edge accentuation, necrotic regions, and color that persists in a no-primary control; check the peroxidase block if DAB background remains (standard chromogenic IHC practice). HPA rates its tissue result Enhanced but notes medium staining–RNA consistency and possible recognition of protein from more than one gene, so seek an independent specificity check before making a categorical attribution (HPA tissue IHC).
Boster reagents
Best SERPINB2 / Plasminogen activator inhibitor 2 IHC Antibodies
The catalog has one human-reactive anti-SERPINB2 antibody with a real paraffin-section IHC image from human placenta; no IF image is supplied (catalog: PB9355 reactivity, applications and image captions).
Real IHC data
Anti-SerpinB2 Antibody ®
Cat # PB9355
PB9355 is listed for human IHC and WB (catalog: PB9355 applications and reactivity). Its own IHC(P) image caption shows human placenta tissue (PB9355 IHC image caption).
Which to pick: For tissue IHC, choose PB9355: it is a rabbit antibody listed for human IHC, and its own caption supports paraffin sections of human placenta; the fixative is unreported (catalog: PB9355 host, applications and reactivity; PB9355 IHC image caption). PB9355 has no reported clone, IF/ICC application, IF image or IF dilution, so this catalog provides no IF/ICC option (catalog: PB9355 clone, applications and IF fields). It also provides no supported cross-species option because PB9355 lists Human reactivity only (catalog: PB9355 reactivity).
Each figure is that product's own IHC / IF validation image from its datasheet.
References
- UniProt Consortium. UniProt entry P05120 (PAI2_HUMAN, Plasminogen activator inhibitor 2).
- Human Protein Atlas. SERPINB2 tissue IHC expression (reliability: Enhanced).
- Human Protein Atlas. SERPINB2 subcellular location (ICC-IF): Highest expression in HaCaT: 661.4 nTPM.
- Human Protein Atlas. SERPINB2 antibody validation summary (3 antibodies).
- Down-regulation of SerpinB2 is associated with gefitinib resistance in non-small cell lung cancer and enhances invadopodia-like structure protrusions. Scientific reports 2016 — PMC4997607.
- Low expression of SerpinB2 is associated with reduced survival in lung adenocarcinomas. Oncotarget 2017 — PMC5710879.
- SerpinB2 deficiency is associated with delayed mammary tumor development and decreased pro-tumorigenic macrophage polarization. BMC cancer 2024 — PMC11221169.
- Plasminogen activator inhibitors orchestrate the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment in pancreatic cancer. bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology 2025 — PMC12262235.
- PubMed PMID:3029122 — UniProt-cited evidence.
- PubMed PMID:3325828 — UniProt-cited evidence.
- PubMed PMID:3496414 — UniProt-cited evidence.
Immunohistochemistry protocol sheet for SERPINB2 (Plasminogen activator inhibitor 2). Expected localisation Cytoplasmic in tissue (HPA tissue IHC); also secreted (UniProt). Antigen retrieval: Citrate pH 6.0 HIER, 95–98 °C, 20 min (rule: cytoplasmic / membrane antigen). Validated IHC antibody: PB9355 at 0.5-1μg/ml (the product's own IHC validation image is shown). Controls (HPA): positive Placenta (Trophoblastic cells); negative Adipose tissue. IHC workflow; specimen preparation unspecified. Protocol steps: 1. Sample: Tissue sections; selected-image fixative not specified (standard IHC workflow); 2. Fixation: Image fixative and duration unreported (datasheet PB9355); verify before use.; 3. Sectioning: 4–5 µm sections on charged slides (standard); 4. Deparaffinisation: Xylene, graded ethanol series to water (standard); 5. Antigen retrieval: Heat-induced epitope retrieval in citrate buffer, pH 6.0 , 20 min at 95–98 °C…; 6. Peroxidase block: 3% H2O2, 10 min , room temperature (standard); 7. Blocking: 10% normal serum of the secondary host, 30 min , room temperature (standard); 8. Primary antibody: Rabbit anti-SERPINB2, 0.5-1μg/ml (datasheet PB9355); 9. Primary incubation: Overnight at 4 °C (standard). Watch for: Fixation: Matched tissue-IHC evidence does not establish the fixation claim. Validate the specimen-specific method before use. (selected-SKU IHC image PB9355); Caveat: Signal may include protein from another gene (HPA tissue IHC); Isoform / epitope: No isoforms or propeptide annotated; epitope location unknown (UniProt); Regulation: Expression regulation is not annotated (UniProt). Evidence: UniProt P05120, HPA tissue IHC · Enhanced, HPA cell-line RNA · Highest expression in HaCaT: 661.4 nTPM, Datasheet PB9355, PMC4997607, PMC5710879. QR code links to https://www.bosterbio.com/bosterbio-gene-info-cards/SERPINB2/immunohistochemistry-ihc-guide.