SLC2A2 / Solute carrier family 2, facilitated glucose transporter member 2 · IHC design guide

Design Immunohistochemistry for SLC2A2

This IHC guide uses membranous staining in hepatocytes, enterocytes and renal tubules as its tissue reference (HPA tissue IHC). It covers paraffin-section preparation and chromogenic detection using the catalog antibody (datasheet PB9436).

Evidence assembled Oct 2026 · For research use; verify linked source records and product datasheet before use

Immunohistochemistry protocol sheet for SLC2A2 (IHC for SLC2A2): expected localisation Cell membrane (UniProt); membranous tissue staining (HPA tissue IHC), antibody PB9436, validated IHC image, and IHC protocol steps — Printable **SLC2A2** IHC protocol sheet — expected localisation Cell membrane (UniProt); membranous tissue staining (HPA tissue IHC), antibody PB9436, controls and protocol steps. Open the full SLC2A2 IHC guide →

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SLC2A2 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	Cell membrane (UniProt); membranous tissue staining (HPA tissue IHC)
	Staining pattern	Membranous hepatocytes, enterocytes and renal tubules (HPA tissue IHC)
	Antigen retrieval	EDTA pH 8.0 HIER, heat-mediated (datasheet PB9436)
	Positive control ⓘ	Duodenum+3 more · see all
	Negative control ⓘ	Adipose tissue+4 more · see all

Important caveats

Reasons your staining may differ from the expected pattern.

	Fixation	Keep fixation consistent across paraffin sections (standard IHC practice; not target-specific)
	Caveat	Renal tubules stain less strongly than hepatocytes (HPA tissue IHC)
	Regulation	No staining-linked regulator specified (UniProt)
	Isoform / epitope	2 isoforms; check whether the epitope is extracellular or cytoplasmic (UniProt)

Section 1

Recommended SLC2A2 IHC & IF Protocols

Compare the catalog antibody’s IHC-P protocol (datasheet: PB9436) with one published chromogenic SLC2A2 protocol using gastric tissue sections (PMC10773219).

Recommended immunohistochemistry (IHC-P) protocol parameters
Sample	Paraffin-embedded human liver cancer tissue; fixative not specified (datasheet PB9436)
Fixation	Image fixative and duration unreported (datasheet PB9436); 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 PB9436); 20 min, 95–100 °C (standard)
Peroxidase block	3% H2O2, 10 min, room temperature (standard)
Blocking	10% goat serum (datasheet PB9436)
Primary antibody	Rabbit anti-SLC2A2, 0.5-1μg/ml (datasheet PB9436)
Primary incubation	Overnight at 4 °C (datasheet PB9436)
Detection	Streptavidin-biotin complex (SABC), DAB chromogen (datasheet PB9436)
Counterstain	Hematoxylin, blue, dehydrate and mount (standard)
Expected result	SLC2A2-positive staining in enterocytes of duodenum (HPA tissue IHC: High). HPA tissue profile: Selective membranous expression in hepatocytes, small intestine, duodenum and renal tubules. No signal in the no-primary control.

💡Decision noteStart with heat-mediated EDTA retrieval at pH 8.0 (datasheet: PB9436); EDTA at pH 6.0 is a published alternative for gastric sections (PMC10773219 methods).

Section 2

What Is the Expected SLC2A2 Staining Pattern?

SLC2A2 (GLUT2) is a cell-membrane transporter with 12 transmembrane segments (UniProt P11168 topology). In paraffin-section IHC, expect selective membranous staining in hepatocytes and enterocytes, with staining also reported in renal tubules (HPA tissue IHC: Enhanced reliability). HPA reports High staining in hepatocytes and duodenal and small-intestinal enterocytes, and Medium staining in kidney tubular cells (HPA tissue IHC).

What am I looking at on my slide?
Crisp staining outlines hepatocytes or enterocytes; kidney tubular cells show a weaker outline.	This fits the reported membrane compartment and relative tissue levels: High in hepatocytes and enterocytes, Medium in tubular cells (UniProt P11168 subcellular location; HPA tissue IHC). Compare cells within each tissue; HPA levels are categorical observations, not a numeric staining threshold (HPA tissue IHC).
Signal is predominantly nuclear or fills the cytoplasm without a discernible membrane outline.	That distribution conflicts with the annotated cell-membrane location and HPA's selective membranous IHC profile (UniProt P11168 subcellular location; HPA tissue IHC). Treat it as an interpretation warning and assess whether background or nonspecific staining obscures a membrane signal (general IHC practice).
Strong staining appears in adipocytes or respiratory epithelial cells while expected cells are faint.	HPA reports SLC2A2 as Not detected in adipocytes of adipose tissue and respiratory epithelial cells of bronchus (HPA tissue IHC). Investigate antibody cross-reactivity or endogenous detection activity before calling those cells positive; an unexpected stain alone does not identify its cause (general IHC practice).
Color spreads across tissue and empty areas, making cell borders hard to distinguish.	Diffuse signal cannot be scored as the selective membrane pattern reported for SLC2A2 (HPA tissue IHC). Evaluate the detection background with an appropriate negative control and inspect whether blocking, washing, or chromogen development contributed (general IHC practice).
A liver section has no convincing hepatocyte membrane staining.	HPA reports High hepatocyte staining, so this is an informative failure of the current IHC run, though it does not prove that the specimen lacks SLC2A2 (HPA tissue IHC). Check tissue preservation, antibody performance, retrieval, and detection controls as general IHC practice; no SLC2A2-specific fixation sensitivity is established here.

💡Expected SLC2A2 appearanceCall a section positive when hepatocyte or enterocyte membranes show clear, relatively strong staining, with possible Medium tubular-cell staining in kidney; isolated nuclear, diffuse, or HPA-undetected-cell staining warrants investigation before a positive call (HPA tissue IHC; UniProt P11168 subcellular location).

How each factor affects the staining
Membrane topology	SLC2A2 has 12 transmembrane segments and is annotated at the cell membrane (UniProt P11168 topology; subcellular location). Judge IHC against a cell-border pattern; the supplied record does not identify an antibody epitope or establish which side of the membrane it recognizes.
Tissue and cell selection	Liver hepatocytes and duodenal or small-intestinal enterocytes provide reported High-staining examples; kidney tubular cells are Medium (HPA tissue IHC). Adipose-tissue adipocytes are reported Not detected and can help assess unexpected staining (HPA tissue IHC).
Strength of the tissue evidence	HPA rates the tissue IHC profile Enhanced, describing high consistency between antibody staining and RNA expression; three listed antibodies have IHC Enhanced status (HPA tissue IHC; HPA antibodies). This supports the reported pattern, without validating every antibody or specimen.
Isoforms and processing	UniProt lists 2 isoforms and a chain spanning residues 1–524, with no signal peptide or propeptide annotated (UniProt P11168 isoforms; processing). These annotations do not establish isoform-specific staining or a shed-product pattern.
Annotated modification	UniProt records a glycosylation site at residue 62 and a modified threonine at 523 (UniProt P11168 glycosylation; modified residues). The supplied sources do not show that either modification changes IHC antigen retrieval or staining intensity.

Why is my staining missing, weak or wrong?
Situation	Likely cause	Next action
Expected membrane outlines are replaced by mostly nuclear or diffuse cytoplasmic color.	The result disagrees with the annotated cell-membrane location and selective membranous HPA profile; the cause is unresolved by appearance alone (UniProt P11168 subcellular location; HPA tissue IHC).	Review a negative control and the staining distribution at higher magnification; adjust blocking, washes, or detection conditions only if controls indicate background (general IHC practice).
An HPA-undetected cell type stains as strongly as hepatocytes.	Cross-reactivity or endogenous detection activity is possible; HPA reports High hepatocytes and Not detected adipose-tissue adipocytes (HPA tissue IHC; general IHC practice).	Check negative controls and compare the suspect cells with a liver positive control in the same run before assigning cell-specific positivity (HPA tissue IHC; general IHC practice).
The whole section has diffuse chromogen or staining outside identifiable cells.	Widespread background can obscure the selective membranous profile, but the image does not establish which reagent caused it (HPA tissue IHC; general IHC practice).	Inspect negative-control background, blocking, wash steps, and development time; reassess localization after the background is controlled (general IHC practice).
Known-positive liver lacks hepatocyte signal.	This contradicts HPA's High hepatocyte result, but the payload provides no target-specific fixation or retrieval effect to explain it (HPA tissue IHC).	Verify the liver control, antibody and detection steps, and the retrieval conditions used for that antibody; repeat with controls if the run failed (general IHC practice).
Kidney appears weaker than liver.	That ordering can match HPA's Medium tubular-cell level versus High hepatocyte level; intensity alone is insufficient to diagnose a failed stain (HPA tissue IHC).	Look for a convincing tubular-cell membrane outline and assess both tissues alongside run controls before changing conditions (HPA tissue IHC; general IHC practice).
Q: Can ICC-IF images define the expected paraffin-section IHC pattern?	HPA ICC-IF supports plasma-membrane localization and also reports mid-piece and principal-piece locations; those are subcellular observations, not paraffin-section tissue intensity scores (HPA subcellular ICC-IF; HPA tissue IHC).	A: Use the ICC-IF findings as localization context and interpret paraffin IHC against HPA's tissue-specific membranous profile; consult the separate IF/ICC guide for that application (HPA subcellular ICC-IF; HPA tissue IHC).

Source: UniProt P11168 Human Protein Atlas tissue Human Protein Atlas subcellular

Experiment evidence

IHC & IF images showing SLC2A2 staining

IHC analysis of SLC2A2 using anti-SLC2A2 antibody (PB9436). SLC2A2 was detected in a paraffin-embedded section of human liver cancer 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 1 μg/ml rabbit anti-SLC2A2 Antibody (PB9436) overnight at 4°C. Biotinylated goat anti-rabbit IgG was used as secondary antibody and incubated for 30 minutes at 37°C. The tissue section was developed using Strepavidin-Biotin-Complex (SABC) (Catalog # SA1022) with DAB as the chromogen.

PB9436 · IHCIHC analysis of SLC2A2 using anti-SLC2A2 antibody (PB9436). SLC2A2 was detected in a paraffin-embedded section of human liver cancer tissue.

HPA · Cerebral cortexHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Cerebral cortex. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000163581-SLC2A2/tissue/cerebral+cortex#imid_15249106

HPA · Small intestineHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Small intestine. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000163581-SLC2A2/tissue/small+intestine#imid_15249073

HPA · ColonHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Colon. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000163581-SLC2A2/tissue/colon#imid_15249139

HPA · LiverHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Liver. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000163581-SLC2A2/tissue/liver#imid_15249078

HPA · ICC-IF Hep-G2Human Protein Atlas immunofluorescence, Hep-G2, antibody HPA028997; green = SLC2A2, blue = nucleus, red = microtubules.

← swipe / scroll for more images →

Real IHC / IF data behind the staining-pattern expectations in this section.

Sample controls for SLC2A2 IHC & IF

🧪Run liver first: hepatocytes should stain strongly (HPA: High in hepatocytes). Run adipose tissue as the negative tissue control (HPA: Not detected in adipocytes); use morphologically identifiable nonhepatocyte cells on the liver slide to assess background, without assuming they are SLC2A2-negative.

Positive control tissue: Duodenum (Enterocytes, HPA High)

Negative control tissue: Adipose tissue (HPA Not detected)

ICC-IF cell lines (HPA subcellular resource): HPA ICC-IF images show SLC2A2 in Hep-G2, U2OS, Sperm, with annotated localisation: Plasma membrane (supported), Mid piece (approved), Principal piece (approved) (HPA subcellular).

Technical controls: Include no-primary (secondary-only) and concentration-matched rabbit IgG isotype controls, alongside a validated SLC2A2 knockout specimen or peptide-block control (caption: rabbit primary antibody). For liver sections developed with the reported biotin-based DAB method, assess endogenous peroxidase and biotin background (caption: biotinylated secondary, SABC and DAB).

⚠️Feasibility: A target-specific fixation window or fixation effect is unreported, and the selected PB9436 paraffin-section caption does not state a fixative (caption: fixative not stated). The reported IHC procedure used heat retrieval in EDTA at pH 8.0; whether retrieval is essential, or whether frozen sections or IF are easier, is unreported (caption: heat-mediated EDTA retrieval). Liver background from endogenous peroxidase or biotin is a practical concern with the reported detection method (caption: biotinylated secondary, SABC and DAB).

HPA tissue IHC evidence for SLC2A2

Comprehensive Human Protein Atlas IHC scoring per tissue (reliability: Enhanced — High 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

Tissue	Cell type	Level	Evidence	Source
Duodenum	Enterocytes	High	Protein (IHC)	HPA →
Liver	Hepatocytes	High	Protein (IHC)	HPA →
Small intestine	Enterocytes	High	Protein (IHC)	HPA →
Kidney	Cells in tubules	Medium	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	Endocrine 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 SLC2A2 IHC Tips

Troubleshoot SLC2A2 staining by checking retrieval, membrane localisation, cell identity and controls before interpreting chromogenic signal.

How should I retrieve SLC2A2 in paraffin sections when membrane staining is weak?

Use heat-mediated retrieval in EDTA buffer at pH 8.0 first (datasheet PB9436). The catalog antibody produced a tissue image after this retrieval, overnight incubation at 4°C with 1 μg/ml primary antibody, and DAB detection (datasheet PB9436). Compare retrieved and unretrieved sections from the same block, keeping antibody concentration and development time constant (standard IHC practice). If staining remains weak, test a second retrieval condition on adjacent sections as a fallback, and assess tissue preservation alongside signal (standard IHC practice). Score crisp cell-border staining in hepatocytes or enterocytes rather than diffuse color alone (HPA tissue IHC; UniProt P11168 subcellular).

Could fixation explain absent SLC2A2 staining in my paraffin sections?

Target-specific fixation sensitivity is unknown from the supplied evidence; the catalog tissue-IHC caption identifies a paraffin section but does not state its fixative (datasheet PB9436). Record the fixative and fixation duration for each block before comparing staining intensity (standard IHC practice). Run a known positive liver section alongside the study sections, using the same pH 8.0 EDTA retrieval and antibody incubation (HPA tissue IHC; datasheet PB9436). If blocks differ in processing history, compare their membrane staining and tissue morphology before attributing signal differences to biology (standard IHC practice). Do not assign a target-specific fixation effect without a controlled comparison (standard IHC practice).

What staining pattern should count as correctly localised SLC2A2?

Expect a selective cell-border pattern because SLC2A2 is a cell-membrane transporter, and HPA reports membranous staining in hepatocytes, enterocytes and renal tubules (UniProt P11168 subcellular; HPA tissue IHC). Liver hepatocytes and duodenal or small-intestinal enterocytes provide strong reference patterns; renal tubular cells provide a medium-level reference (HPA tissue IHC). Examine borders at high magnification and compare them with a matched counterstained section, avoiding scores based solely on diffuse cytoplasmic DAB (standard IHC practice). Record the fraction of cells with convincing membrane signal separately from intracellular or luminal pigment (standard IHC practice). A cell-border pattern in an unexpected cell population still needs independent validation (HPA tissue IHC; standard IHC practice).

Can epitope location or isoforms change how I interpret SLC2A2 IHC?

SLC2A2 has 12 annotated transmembrane segments and 2 isoforms, so establish which sequence the antibody recognises before claiming isoform coverage (UniProt P11168 topology; UniProt P11168 isoforms). Its extracellular region includes residue 62, an annotated glycosylation site; a cytoplasmic tail spans residues 483–524 and includes phosphothreonine 523 (UniProt P11168 topology; UniProt P11168 processing). The payload does not identify the catalog antibody's epitope, so those features cannot establish its binding sensitivity (datasheet PB9436; UniProt P11168 topology). Compare adjacent sections under identical retrieval and detection conditions when evaluating an antibody with a documented alternative epitope (standard IHC practice). Interpret divergent patterns only after checking antibody specificity and cell identity (standard IHC practice).

How can I assess SLC2A2 by IF alongside a cell-type marker?

For a separate IF experiment, pair SLC2A2 with a validated marker identifying hepatocytes, enterocytes or renal tubular cells, matching the population under study (HPA tissue IHC). Choose a far-red fluorophore for the weaker channel when tissue autofluorescence obscures shorter wavelengths, and include unstained and single-stain controls (standard IF practice). Decide permeabilisation after identifying the antibody epitope: an intracellular epitope requires access through the membrane, whereas an extracellular epitope may be assessed without permeabilisation (UniProt P11168 topology; standard IF practice). The supplied catalog caption documents chromogenic tissue IHC, not IF performance or IF fixation conditions (datasheet PB9436). Assess membrane overlap and cell identity before interpreting fluorescence intensity (HPA subcellular; standard IF practice).

What should I check when SLC2A2 DAB staining is widespread?

First compare a no-primary control with the stained section to identify signal from the detection system (standard IHC practice). The catalog image used a biotinylated secondary, streptavidin-biotin complex and DAB, so inspect controls for endogenous biotin and peroxidase contributions when using that workflow (datasheet PB9436; standard IHC practice). Include a peroxidase block and optimise blocking, washes and DAB development as general chromogenic IHC steps (standard IHC practice). The catalog caption reports 10% goat serum blocking and 1 μg/ml primary antibody, which provide documented starting conditions for this antibody (datasheet PB9436). Compare background against selective membrane staining in expected cells (HPA tissue IHC).

How should I score SLC2A2 when staining varies across a section? ⚠ ANSWER MARKED FOR VERIFICATION

Define positive staining as a convincing membrane signal, consistent with the reported cell-membrane localisation (UniProt P11168 subcellular; HPA tissue IHC). Score the percentage of positive target cells and their membrane intensity, then calculate an H-score if an intensity-weighted summary is needed (standard IHC practice). Normalise to the number of evaluable hepatocytes, enterocytes or renal tubular cells, as appropriate, rather than the entire tissue area (HPA tissue IHC; standard IHC practice). Keep retrieval, antibody concentration, DAB development and image exposure consistent across sections (standard IHC practice). Report excluded necrotic and damaged regions and score compartments separately when their patterns differ (standard IHC practice).

How can I distinguish true SLC2A2 staining from artefact?

A credible positive follows cell borders in expected populations: hepatocytes, small-intestinal or duodenal enterocytes, and renal tubular cells (HPA tissue IHC; UniProt P11168 subcellular). Diffuse nuclear staining, isolated section-edge color or signal concentrated in necrotic regions warrants scrutiny against morphology and controls (standard IHC practice). Compare serial sections and no-primary controls to identify edge effects or endogenous enzyme signal from the DAB workflow (datasheet PB9436; standard IHC practice). Adipocytes in adipose tissue are reported as not detected and can help assess specificity when represented in a suitable control section (HPA tissue IHC). A pattern outside expected cells requires independent confirmation before biological interpretation (HPA tissue IHC; standard IHC practice).

Boster reagents

Best SLC2A2 / Solute carrier family 2, facilitated glucose transporter member 2 IHC Antibodies

The catalog lists human IHC antibodies for SLC2A2 and one paraffin-section image; it lists no IF/ICC data (catalog applications; PB9436 image caption; IF image alts).

Real IHC data

Anti-Glucose Transporter GLUT2/SLC2A2 Antibody ®

Cat # PB9436

View product →

PB9436 lists human IHC and shows staining in a paraffin-embedded human liver cancer section (PB9436 catalog applications/reactivity; PB9436 image caption). M02297-2 lists IHC reactivity for human, mouse, and rat, but provides no IHC image or specimen details (M02297-2 catalog applications/reactivity; IHC image alts).

Which to pick: For human paraffin-section IHC, choose PB9436: its own caption documents EDTA retrieval, 1 μg/ml primary antibody, and chromogenic detection; the fixative is unreported (PB9436 image caption). For cross-species IHC, consider the rabbit monoclonal M02297-2, whose catalog lists human, mouse, and rat reactivity but provides no tissue image or processing details (M02297-2 catalog). Neither SKU lists IF/ICC or provides an IF image, so neither has documented IF/ICC support here (catalog applications; IF image alts).

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

References

UniProt Consortium. UniProt entry P11168 (GTR2_HUMAN, Solute carrier family 2, facilitated glucose transporter member 2).
Human Protein Atlas. SLC2A2 tissue IHC expression (reliability: Enhanced).
Human Protein Atlas. SLC2A2 subcellular location (ICC-IF): Localized to the plasma membrane, mid piece and principal piece..
Human Protein Atlas. SLC2A2 antibody validation summary (3 antibodies).
Prediction and verification of the prognostic biomarker SLC2A2 and its association with immune infiltration in gastric cancer. Oncology letters 2024 — PMC10773219.
Vertical sleeve gastrectomy triggers fast β-cell recovery upon overt diabetes. Molecular metabolism 2021 — PMC8487975.
β-Cell Dedifferentiation in HOMA-βlow and HOMA-βhigh Subjects. The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism 2025 — PMC12012814.
Solute carrier family 2 members 1 and 2 as prognostic biomarkers in hepatocellular carcinoma associated with immune infiltration. World journal of clinical cases 2022 — PMC9131213.
PubMed PMID:3399500 — UniProt-cited evidence.
PubMed PMID:14702039 — UniProt-cited evidence.
PubMed PMID:16641997 — UniProt-cited evidence.