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- Table of Contents
Plan chromogenic SMAD5 IHC on paraffin sections using the observed cytoplasmic and membranous tissue pattern (HPA tissue IHC). Use high staining in testis Leydig cells as a reference (HPA tissue IHC), and interpret nuclear signal in light of BMP-dependent SMAD5 translocation (UniProt).
Expected localisation, validated protocols, controls and antibodies — the at-a-glance facts below, then the full design guide.
| Expected localisation | Cytoplasmic and membranous tissue staining (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Staining pattern | Mostly epithelial cells; cytoplasmic and membranous staining (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Antigen retrieval | Tris-EDTA pH 9.0 HIER, 95–98 °C, 20 min (rule: nuclear antigen) | |
| Positive control | Testis+4 more · see all | |
| Negative control | Adipose tissue+4 more · see all |
| Fixation | Keep fixation consistent across paraffin sections (standard IHC practice; not target-specific); optimize empirically. | |
| Caveat | BMP signaling may shift SMAD5 signal toward nuclei (UniProt) | |
| Regulation | BMP activation phosphorylates SMAD5 (UniProt) | |
| Isoform / epitope | 0 annotated isoforms; no propeptide (UniProt) |
The catalog antibody’s IHC-P protocol is accompanied by four published SMAD5 IHC methods: three paraffin-section protocols and one frozen-section protocol (PMC5239538; PMC12368585; PMC7077029; PMC6923203).
| Sample | Paraffin-embedded tissue sections; fixative not specified (datasheet M01423; sample unspecified) |
| Fixation | Image fixative and duration unreported (datasheet M01423); 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 Tris-EDTA buffer, pH 9.0, 20 min at 95–98 °C (standard rule: nuclear 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 monoclonal (clone BDB-19) anti-SMAD5, 1:50 (datasheet M01423) |
| 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 | SMAD5-positive staining in leydig cells of testis (HPA tissue IHC: High). HPA tissue profile: Cytoplasmic and membranous expression in several tissues, most abundant in epithelial cells. No signal in the no-primary control. |
SMAD5 is cytoplasmic without ligand and can migrate to the nucleus with SMAD4 after BMP signaling (UniProt Q99717). HPA tissue IHC reports cytoplasmic and membranous staining, most abundant in epithelial cells, with high staining in testicular Leydig cells (HPA tissue IHC). SMAD5 has no transmembrane segment (UniProt Q99717 topology). HPA rates its tissue IHC pattern Approved but reports low consistency between antibody staining and RNA expression (HPA tissue IHC).
| Clear cytoplasmic staining in epithelial cells, or strong staining in testicular Leydig cells (HPA tissue IHC). | This matches reported tissue IHC: several epithelial populations stain at medium intensity, while Leydig cells stain at high intensity (HPA tissue IHC). Assess the named cells rather than judging the whole section as positive. |
| Signal is confined to an unexpected compartment, such as nuclei in every cell, with no cell-specific pattern. | Check specificity before calling this positive. Nuclear SMAD5 is biologically possible after BMP signaling (UniProt Q99717), and nucleoplasmic ICC-IF signal is supported (HPA subcellular); nuclear staining alone is not proof of an artefact. |
| Comparable staining appears in reported positive cells and reported unstained cells (HPA tissue IHC). | Cross-reactivity or detection background becomes plausible. For example, HPA reports medium staining in endometrial glandular cells but no detection in appendix glandular cells (HPA tissue IHC). Tissue context and matched controls matter. |
| Diffuse chromogen covers cells, stroma, and the section background without clear boundaries. | Treat this as uninterpretable background under general IHC practice. Check the detection-only control and examine whether blocking, washing, or chromogen development produced widespread signal before assigning SMAD5 localisation. |
| No staining is seen in testicular Leydig cells, a reported high-staining population (HPA tissue IHC). | A technical failure or unsuitable antibody condition is possible; confirm tissue preservation and the IHC detection controls. HPA's Approved rating carries a low antibody-staining/RNA-consistency caveat, so one negative section is not decisive (HPA tissue IHC). |
| Tissue and cell selection | HPA reports high staining in testicular Leydig cells and medium staining in several epithelial populations (HPA tissue IHC). Adipocytes and appendix glandular cells are reported as not detected (HPA tissue IHC), providing cell-specific comparisons. |
| Strength of the tissue evidence | The tissue profile is Approved, yet antibody staining has low consistency with RNA expression (HPA tissue IHC). Use the reported pattern as an expectation to check with controls, rather than an absolute rule for every specimen. |
| Signaling state and compartment | SMAD5 is cytoplasmic without ligand; BMP receptor activation promotes phosphorylation, SMAD4 association, and nuclear translocation (UniProt Q99717). Tissue IHC may therefore require compartment-aware interpretation, while the supplied evidence does not predict a nuclear fraction for a given section. |
| Topology and processing | SMAD5 has no transmembrane segment or signal peptide (UniProt Q99717 topology and processing). HPA nevertheless describes membranous tissue IHC staining (HPA tissue IHC); that appearance alone does not establish SMAD5 as a membrane-spanning protein. |
| IF/ICC Q&A: Where is SMAD5 seen? | Mainly in the nucleoplasm, with additional cytosolic signal in ICC-IF (HPA subcellular). This supports possible nuclear localisation, but it does not replace the cell-specific expectations or reliability caveat from tissue IHC (HPA tissue IHC). |
| Antibody validation | HPA058931 is listed as IHC Approved and ICC Supported (HPA antibodies). Those ratings describe application-specific evidence; they do not establish a retrieval method, dilution, or target-specific fixation sensitivity for this guide. |
| Situation | Likely cause | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| Reported high-staining Leydig cells show no chromogen (HPA tissue IHC). | A failed detection step, unsuitable staining conditions, or specimen variation may explain the result; the tissue profile also has low staining/RNA consistency (HPA tissue IHC). | Check section integrity and detection controls, then review the catalog antibody's IHC-P instructions. Reassess the result against more than one identifiable cell population. |
| The entire section shows brown haze, including areas outside cells. | General IHC possibilities include excess detection reagent, insufficient washing, or endogenous enzyme activity; no SMAD5-specific cause is established by the supplied sources. | Inspect a detection-only control. Adjust the relevant blocking, washing, or chromogen-development step using standard chromogenic IHC practice before scoring cells. |
| An expected negative cell population stains as strongly as a reported positive one (HPA tissue IHC). | Cross-reactivity or nonspecific detection is possible. HPA reports no detection in adipocytes and appendix glandular cells, alongside staining in specified positive populations (HPA tissue IHC). | Verify cell identity on the counterstained section and compare matched controls. Interpret the signal cautiously if cell-specific contrast cannot be reproduced. |
| Only membrane-like staining is apparent, with no convincing cell-body signal. | HPA describes membranous tissue IHC staining, but SMAD5 has no transmembrane segment (HPA tissue IHC; UniProt Q99717 topology). The appearance needs corroboration. | Check whether the same section shows the reported cytoplasmic, cell-specific pattern (HPA tissue IHC). Review controls and avoid inferring membrane residence from chromogen placement alone. |
| Nuclear staining seems to conflict with the cytoplasmic tissue IHC profile (HPA tissue IHC). | Nuclear translocation can follow BMP signaling (UniProt Q99717), and nucleoplasmic ICC-IF localisation is supported (HPA subcellular). The supplied evidence does not define the signaling state of this section. | Record nuclear and cytoplasmic staining separately in identifiable cells. Compare detection controls and the tissue pattern before treating nuclear signal as either specific or artifactual. |
Comprehensive Human Protein Atlas IHC scoring per tissue (reliability: Approved — Low 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Testis | Leydig cells | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Bronchus | Ciliated cells (cell body) | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Cervix | Squamous epithelial cells | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Endometrium | Glandular cells | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Epididymis | Glandular cells | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Tissue | Cell type | Level | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adipose tissue | Adipocytes | 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 → |
| Caudate | Glial cells | Not detected | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
Troubleshoot SMAD5 staining in paraffin sections by assessing retrieval, cell type, compartment, controls and scoring together (UniProt Q99717; HPA tissue IHC).
The catalog lists human-, mouse-, and rat-reactive SMAD5 antibodies for IHC, with human and rat tissue images; M01423 also has an IF image (catalog reactivity and image captions).
M01423 shows paraffin-embedded human Hodgkin’s lymphoma (M01423 image caption), and PA2115 shows rat intestine by IHC(P) (PA2115 image caption). M01423-2 shows human liver (M01423-2 image caption), while P01423-1 shows paraffin-embedded human pancreas stained for phospho-SMAD5 S463/465 (P01423-1 image caption).
Which to pick: For tissue IHC, choose PA2115 for its rat-intestine IHC(P) example (PA2115 image caption), or M01423 for its paraffin-embedded human tissue example (M01423 image caption); the fixative is unreported in both captions. For IF/ICC, M01423 is a rabbit monoclonal listed for both applications and has an IF image (M01423 catalog). All four SKUs list human, mouse, and rat reactivity (catalog reactivity); choose P01423-1 when the target is phospho-SMAD5 S463/465 (P01423-1 title).