TAB2 / TGF-beta-activated kinase 1 and MAP3K7-binding protein 2 · IHC design guide

Design Immunohistochemistry for TAB2

Plan chromogenic TAB2 IHC in paraffin sections using the reported cytoplasmic tissue pattern (HPA tissue IHC). The guide covers positive cell populations (HPA tissue IHC), the catalog antibody’s 2–5 μg/mL IHC range (datasheet A02499-1), and IL1-related redistribution (UniProt).

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

Immunohistochemistry protocol sheet for TAB2 (IHC for TAB2): expected localisation General cytoplasmic tissue staining (HPA tissue IHC), antibody A02499-1, validated IHC image, and IHC protocol steps — Printable **TAB2** IHC protocol sheet — expected localisation General cytoplasmic tissue staining (HPA tissue IHC), antibody A02499-1, controls and protocol steps. Open the full TAB2 IHC guide →

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TAB2 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	General cytoplasmic tissue staining (HPA tissue IHC)
	Staining pattern	Cytoplasmic staining in lung macrophages (HPA tissue IHC)
	Antigen retrieval	EDTA pH 8.0 HIER, heat-mediated (datasheet A02499-1)
	Positive control ⓘ	Bone marrow+4 more · see all
	Negative control ⓘ	None in HPA (detected in all 45 tissues); use no-primary + isotype controls

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	IL1 may shift TAB2 from membrane to cytosol (UniProt)
	Regulation	IL1 alters compartment distribution (UniProt)
	Isoform / epitope	Two isoforms; epitope coverage is unspecified (UniProt)

Section 1

Recommended TAB2 IHC & IF Protocols

The catalog antibody’s IHC-P protocol (datasheet: A02499-1) is accompanied by published TAB2 staining protocols for adult mouse cryosections (PMC2770139) and cervical carcinoma sections (PMC8266450).

Recommended immunohistochemistry (IHC-P) protocol parameters
Sample	Paraffin-embedded human rectal cancer tissue; fixative not specified (datasheet A02499-1)
Fixation	Image fixative and duration unreported (datasheet A02499-1); 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 A02499-1); 20 min, 95–100 °C (standard)
Peroxidase block	3% H2O2, 10 min, room temperature (standard)
Blocking	10% goat serum (datasheet A02499-1)
Primary antibody	Rabbit anti-TAB2, 2-5μg/ml (datasheet A02499-1)
Primary incubation	Overnight at 4 °C (datasheet A02499-1)
Detection	Streptavidin-biotin complex (SABC), DAB chromogen (datasheet A02499-1)
Counterstain	Hematoxylin, blue, dehydrate and mount (standard)
Expected result	TAB2-positive staining in hematopoietic cells of bone marrow (HPA tissue IHC: High). HPA tissue profile: General cytoplasmic expression. No signal in the no-primary control.

💡Decision noteStart with heat-mediated EDTA pH 8.0 for the catalog antibody (datasheet: A02499-1); the carcinoma study used heated 0.01 mol/l citrate, pH 6.0 (PMC8266450).

Section 2

What Is the Expected TAB2 Staining Pattern?

TAB2 is reported in the cytosol and at membranes, including endosome and lysosome membranes; it has no transmembrane segment (UniProt Q9NYJ8). In paraffin sections, expect mainly cytoplasmic staining across multiple tissues, with strong staining in selected cell populations such as lung macrophages and bronchial respiratory epithelium (HPA: general cytoplasmic expression; High in these cells). HPA rates its tissue IHC profile Approved, with medium consistency between staining and RNA data (HPA: reliability).

What am I looking at on my slide?
Clear cytoplasmic staining in lung macrophages, with less staining in neighboring cells.	This fits a reported high staining population and TAB2's cytoplasmic location (HPA: High in lung macrophages; UniProt Q9NYJ8). Compare cells within the section: broad expression is plausible, so neighboring cells need not be completely unstained (UniProt Q9NYJ8: widely expressed; HPA: low tissue specificity).
Strong nuclear-only staining, with little or no cytoplasmic signal.	A nuclear-only pattern conflicts with the reported cytosolic and membrane locations and HPA's general cytoplasmic IHC profile (UniProt Q9NYJ8; HPA: tissue IHC). Treat it as unresolved: inspect morphology and controls, then check whether a second IHC-approved antibody gives the same compartment pattern (HPA: HPA065436 and HPA070137 IHC Approved).
Intense staining in a cell population scored low by HPA, while expected high-staining cells are weak.	This reverses the reported comparison—for example, cardiomyocytes are Low and lung macrophages are High (HPA: tissue IHC). Consider cross-reactivity or endogenous detection activity, then check tissue identity, controls, and staining with an independent antibody (general IHC practice). A Low HPA score does not require a completely negative result (HPA: Low).
Uniform color covers cells and extracellular spaces, obscuring cytoplasmic detail.	The distribution cannot be scored confidently as cellular TAB2 staining (general IHC practice). Check reagent-only controls and whether color persists outside cells; nonspecific binding, endogenous detection activity, or excess chromogen development can produce background (general IHC practice).
No detectable signal in a section containing well-preserved lung macrophages or bronchial respiratory epithelium.	Those populations are reported High by HPA, so their absence of signal warrants a technical check (HPA: tissue IHC). Confirm that the expected cells are present, then review the catalog antibody's IHC-P instructions, retrieval, dilution, detection reagents, and a same-run positive control (general IHC practice).

💡Expected TAB2 appearanceCall a result positive when identifiable cells show cytoplasmic TAB2 staining, especially strong staining in HPA High populations such as lung macrophages; nuclear-only color or color extending uniformly beyond cells is a warning to investigate, not a confirmed TAB2 pattern (HPA: tissue IHC; UniProt Q9NYJ8; general IHC practice).

How each factor affects the staining
Cell compartment and signaling state	UniProt places TAB2 in cytosol and at membranes, and reports membrane-to-cytosol movement after IL1 stimulation and movement toward endosomes and lysosomes with TRIM38 (UniProt Q9NYJ8). These observations support some compartment variation; they do not establish a diagnostic punctate IHC pattern in the supplied tissues.
Choice of reference tissue and cell	Use the named cell population when judging intensity: bone marrow hematopoietic cells, pancreatic exocrine glandular cells, and placental trophoblastic cells are High, while cardiomyocytes and skeletal myocytes are Low (HPA: tissue IHC). HPA also reports low tissue specificity, so an entire tissue is not an absolute positive or negative control (HPA: RNA specificity).
Strength of IHC pattern evidence	HPA calls the tissue profile Approved and reports medium agreement between antibody staining and RNA expression (HPA: reliability). Its listed antibodies HPA065436 and HPA070137 are each IHC Approved (HPA: antibodies). These entries support the reported pattern but do not, by themselves, establish that every unusual stained cell is specific.
IF/ICC: what localization can be predicted?	UniProt supports cytosolic and membrane-associated TAB2 as a starting expectation (UniProt Q9NYJ8). HPA supplies no main ICC-IF location and no cell-line ICC-IF images, so this record cannot confirm an IF puncta pattern, a cell line, or agreement between IF and tissue IHC (HPA: subcellular record).

Why is my staining missing, weak or wrong?
Situation	Likely cause	Next action
A high-staining reference cell population is negative.	The expected cells may be absent from the examined area, or the IHC run may have lost sensitivity (HPA: High populations; general IHC practice).	Confirm cell identity and tissue preservation; compare a same-run positive section, then review the antibody's IHC-P instructions and each detection step (general IHC practice).
Signal is nuclear-only.	The compartment conflicts with cytosolic and membrane localization; staining specificity or interpretation needs checking (UniProt Q9NYJ8; HPA: general cytoplasmic expression).	Review the counterstain and cell boundaries, inspect negative controls, and compare with another IHC-approved antibody if available (general IHC practice; HPA: antibodies).
Color appears in blank areas or across many structures without cellular definition.	Diffuse background can arise from nonspecific binding, endogenous detection activity, or excessive color development (general IHC practice).	Inspect reagent-only controls; check blocking and detection controls, then adjust development according to the assay instructions (general IHC practice).
Low-scored cells stain more strongly than the chosen high-scored cells.	The comparison conflicts with HPA's reported cell-level intensities, though section composition or technical variation may contribute (HPA: tissue IHC; general IHC practice).	Verify the named cell populations on the slide and repeat the comparison with matched processing and controls; investigate persistent discordance with an independent antibody (general IHC practice).
A tissue has mixed cytoplasmic intensities.	HPA reports intensities for particular cell populations, while TAB2 is widely expressed; a whole-section score can hide that distinction (HPA: tissue IHC; UniProt Q9NYJ8).	Score identifiable cell populations separately and compare each with its HPA entry, using the same detection conditions (HPA: tissue IHC; general IHC practice).
An IF image appears punctate but lacks a clear cellular reference.	UniProt lists endosome and lysosome membranes, but HPA supplies no ICC-IF images or established main IF location here (UniProt Q9NYJ8; HPA: subcellular record).	Report the observation as provisional and assess localization with appropriate IF controls; do not infer a validated punctate pattern from this record (general IF practice; HPA: subcellular record).

Source: UniProt Q9NYJ8 Human Protein Atlas tissue Human Protein Atlas subcellular

Experiment evidence

IHC & IF images showing TAB2 staining

IHC analysis of TAB2 using anti-TAB2 antibody (A02499-1). TAB2 was detected in paraffin-embedded section of human rectal cancer tissue. Heat mediated antigen retrieval was performed in EDTA buffer (pH8.0, epitope retrieval solution). The tissue section was blocked with 10% goat serum. The tissue section was then incubated with 2μg/ml rabbit anti-TAB2 Antibody (A02499-1) 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.

A02499-1 · IHCIHC analysis of TAB2 using anti-TAB2 antibody (A02499-1). TAB2 was detected in paraffin-embedded section of human rectal cancer tissue. Heat

A02499 · IHCImmunohistochemistry of TAB2 in human brain tissue with TAB2 antibody at 5 μg/mL.

HPA · Cerebral cortexHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Cerebral cortex. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000055208-TAB2/tissue/cerebral+cortex#imid_19220695

HPA · Parathyroid glandHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Parathyroid gland. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000055208-TAB2/tissue/parathyroid+gland#imid_19220586

HPA · ColonHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Colon. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000055208-TAB2/tissue/colon#imid_19220613

HPA · LiverHuman Protein Atlas IHC, Liver. Source: https://www.proteinatlas.org/ENSG00000055208-TAB2/tissue/liver#imid_19220630

← swipe / scroll for more images →

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

Sample controls for TAB2 IHC & IF

🧪Run lung first and assess staining in its macrophages (High; HPA: lung). HPA detects TAB2 in all 45 scored tissues, so there is no supported negative tissue; use no-primary and isotype controls, and treat staining in nearby nonmacrophage cells as an internal background comparison rather than assuming those cells are TAB2-negative (HPA: no negative tissues; standard IHC practice).

Positive control tissue: Bone marrow (Hematopoietic cells, HPA High)

Negative control tissue: None in HPA: TAB2 is detected in all 45 scored tissues. Use a no-primary (secondary-only) and an isotype control instead.

ICC-IF cell lines (HPA subcellular resource): HPA carries no ICC-IF cell line for TAB2; derive a cell-line control from the positive tissue's cell type (Hematopoietic cells) and confirm it by RNA or western blot first.

Technical controls: Include a secondary-only slide, an isotype control matched to the rabbit primary antibody, and identically processed TAB2-knockout material as a biological negative (caption: rabbit primary; standard IHC practice). Quench endogenous peroxidase and assess pigment-related background in lung macrophages for chromogenic detection; assess autofluorescence if using IF (standard IHC/IF practice).

⚠️Feasibility: A TAB2-specific fixation window or fixation effect is unreported, and the selected A02499-1 paraffin-section caption does not state the fixative (caption: fixative unreported). The caption uses heat retrieval in EDTA at pH 8.0, but does not establish whether retrieval is required (caption: EDTA retrieval). The supplied evidence does not establish that frozen sections or IF are easier; lung macrophage pigment and endogenous peroxidase can complicate chromogenic scoring (HPA: lung macrophages High; standard IHC practice).

HPA tissue IHC evidence for TAB2

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

Tissue	Cell type	Level	Evidence	Source
Bone marrow	Hematopoietic cells	High	Protein (IHC)	HPA →
Bronchus	Respiratory epithelial cells	High	Protein (IHC)	HPA →
Endometrium	Glandular cells	High	Protein (IHC)	HPA →
Epididymis	Glandular cells	High	Protein (IHC)	HPA →
Lung	Macrophages	High	Protein (IHC)	HPA →

Undetected expression · recommended negative controls

Tissue	Cell type	Level	Evidence	Source
None in HPA: TAB2 is detected in all 45 scored tissues. Use a no-primary (secondary-only) and an isotype control instead.

Section 3

Advanced TAB2 IHC Tips

Troubleshoot TAB2 staining in paraffin sections by controlling retrieval, detection, and cell level interpretation; use the IF guidance only when adapting the assay.

How should I retrieve TAB2 when paraffin sections stain weakly?

Start with heat mediated antigen retrieval in EDTA at pH 8.0 for paraffin sections (datasheet A02499-1). Keep heating and cooling conditions consistent across test and control sections, since retrieval differences can change chromogenic intensity (general IHC practice). The catalog example used 2 μg/mL primary antibody overnight at 4°C, so reproduce those conditions while assessing retrieval (datasheet A02499-1). If staining remains weak, compare retrieval durations on matched sections before trying another buffer, and assess cytoplasmic staining in a documented positive cell population (general IHC practice; HPA: general cytoplasmic expression and high staining in lung macrophages).

Could fixation explain inconsistent TAB2 staining across paraffin blocks?

The selected paraffin tissue caption does not state a fixative, so target specific TAB2 sensitivity to fixation is unknown (datasheet A02499-1: fixative not stated). Record each block’s fixative, fixation duration, and processing history before comparing chromogenic intensity between specimens (general IHC practice). For a controlled comparison, stain serial sections together using EDTA at pH 8.0 and the same detection batch (datasheet A02499-1; general IHC practice). If one block remains weak, assess tissue preservation and a positive control alongside it; do not attribute the difference to a particular fixation effect without direct evidence (general IHC practice).

Where should TAB2 staining appear, and can it shift after stimulation?

Expect predominantly cytoplasmic chromogenic staining in tissue sections (HPA: general cytoplasmic expression), while TAB2 is also annotated at membranes, endosomes, lysosomes, and in cytosol (UniProt Q9NYJ8: subcellular location). TAB2 has no transmembrane segment, so a membrane associated pattern does not imply a membrane spanning epitope (UniProt Q9NYJ8: topology). IL1 stimulation can move TAB2 from membrane to cytosol, and interaction with TRIM38 can promote movement toward endosomes and lysosomes (UniProt Q9NYJ8: subcellular location). Score the stated experimental condition and cellular compartment separately, then check whether any claimed redistribution is reproducible across matched sections and controls (general IHC practice).

How can I interpret different staining if the TAB2 epitope is unspecified?

TAB2 has 2 annotated isoforms, but the supplied antibody caption does not identify its epitope or isoform coverage (UniProt Q9NYJ8: isoforms; datasheet A02499-1). Do not assign a staining difference to one isoform without an epitope map or an independent isoform specific assay (general IHC practice). The protein contains a CUE domain at residues 8–51 and annotated modifications including phosphoserines at 372, 450, 482, and 524 (UniProt Q9NYJ8: domains and modified residues). Those annotations do not establish that modification changes this antibody’s binding; compare matched sections with consistent retrieval and detection first (general IHC practice).

How should I adapt the TAB2 tissue findings for multiplex IF?

Treat multiplex IF as a separately optimised assay: the supplied tissue example establishes chromogenic paraffin IHC, while no ICC/IF image evidence is supplied (datasheet A02499-1; HPA: no cell lines with ICC/IF images). Pair TAB2 with a validated marker for the cell population being assessed, such as a macrophage marker when examining lung macrophages (HPA: high TAB2 staining in lung macrophages; general IF practice). Select spectrally separated fluorophores after checking tissue autofluorescence and single colour controls (general IF practice). Because TAB2 is cytosolic and membrane associated without a transmembrane segment, optimise permeabilisation for access to the intended epitope, whose location is unspecified here (UniProt Q9NYJ8: location and topology; datasheet A02499-1).

How do I distinguish TAB2 signal from diffuse DAB background?

The catalog example used 10% goat serum blocking, biotinylated secondary antibody, an avidin biotin detection complex, and DAB (datasheet A02499-1). Include a no primary control and check endogenous peroxidase activity before judging weak brown staining as TAB2 (general IHC practice). If background persists, compare matched sections while adjusting primary concentration around the documented 2 μg/mL and keeping retrieval at EDTA pH 8.0 (datasheet A02499-1; general IHC practice). Inspect tissue edges, damaged regions, and areas with heavy pigment separately, since nonspecific deposition there can distort a cytoplasmic readout (general IHC practice; HPA: general cytoplasmic expression).

What is a defensible way to quantify TAB2 IHC across specimens? ⚠ ANSWER MARKED FOR VERIFICATION

Define cell populations and compartments before scoring because TAB2 shows general cytoplasmic staining and its subcellular distribution can change with stimulation (HPA: general cytoplasmic expression; UniProt Q9NYJ8: subcellular location). For comparable sections, report the percentage of positive cells and an H-score using intensity categories 0–3, with the scoring rule fixed in advance (general IHC practice). If spatial abundance matters, report positive cells per mm² of evaluable tissue and specify which cells entered the denominator (general IHC practice). Normalise comparisons to the same cell population, tissue area, staining run, and exposure to retrieval and detection conditions; exclude necrotic or poorly preserved regions (general IHC practice).

Which TAB2 staining patterns should I distrust as artefacts?

A reproducible cytoplasmic signal in an expected cell population is more credible than staining confined to section edges or necrotic areas (HPA: general cytoplasmic expression; general IHC practice). Lung macrophages and bronchial respiratory epithelial cells are reported as high staining populations, but their patterns are reference points rather than proof of antibody specificity (HPA: high in lung macrophages and bronchial respiratory epithelial cells). Predominantly nuclear DAB staining needs independent confirmation because the supplied location annotations place TAB2 in cytosol and membrane associated compartments (UniProt Q9NYJ8: subcellular location). Compare no primary and peroxidase block controls, then interpret any apparent redistribution in light of stimulation and cellular context (general IHC practice; UniProt Q9NYJ8: stimulus dependent translocation).

Boster reagents

Best TAB2 / TGF-beta-activated kinase 1 and MAP3K7-binding protein 2 IHC Antibodies

Two human-reactive anti-TAB2 antibodies have real IHC images from paraffin sections of human brain and rectal cancer tissue (catalog IHC captions). Neither lists IF/ICC validation (catalog applications).

Real IHC data

Anti-TAB2 Antibody ®

Cat # A02499-1

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Real IHC data Immunohistochemistry of TAB2 in human brain tissue with TAB2 antibody at 5 μg/mL.

Anti-TAB2 Antibody

Cat # A02499

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A02499 will render with IHC data from human brain tissue at 5 μg/mL (A02499 image caption). A02499-1 will render with IHC data from paraffin-embedded human rectal cancer tissue at 2 μg/mL (A02499-1 image caption).

Which to pick: For tissue IHC, choose A02499-1 when its documented paraffin-section workflow is useful, or A02499 for the documented human brain example (respective image captions); A02499 is listed as polyclonal, while A02499-1 has no clone information reported (catalog entries). Neither SKU lists IF/ICC or species beyond human, so neither has payload-supported IF/ICC or cross-species validation (catalog applications and reactivity). Both captions describe paraffin sections but leave the fixative unreported (respective image captions).

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

References

UniProt Consortium. UniProt entry Q9NYJ8 (TAB2_HUMAN, TGF-beta-activated kinase 1 and MAP3K7-binding protein 2).
Human Protein Atlas. TAB2 tissue IHC expression (reliability: Approved).
Human Protein Atlas. TAB2 subcellular location (ICC-IF): Highest expression in HDLM-2: 96.5 nTPM.
Human Protein Atlas. TAB2 antibody validation summary (2 antibodies).
Expression analysis of the TAB2 protein in adult mouse tissues. Inflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.] 2007 — PMC2770139.
TAB2 Promotes the Stemness and Biological Functions of Cervical Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells. Stem cells international 2021 — PMC8266450.
Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Suppresses the Activation of Nuclear Factor Kappa B Pathway via Interaction With the TAK1-TAB2 Complex. Frontiers in immunology 2021 — PMC7947203.
PubMed PMID:10882101 — UniProt-cited evidence.
PubMed PMID:9872452 — UniProt-cited evidence.
PubMed PMID:12168954 — UniProt-cited evidence.