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- Table of Contents
Plan TUBB3 staining in paraffin sections using peripheral nerves and CNS neurons as positive tissue references (HPA tissue IHC). This guide covers fixation, controls and interpretation of cytoplasmic staining, including the reported specificity concern (HPA tissue IHC).
Expected localisation, validated protocols, controls and antibodies — the at-a-glance facts below, then the full design guide.
| Expected localisation | Cytoplasmic staining in tissue sections (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Staining pattern | Peripheral nerves: high; CNS neurons: medium, cytoplasmic (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Antigen retrieval | EDTA pH 8.0 HIER, heat-mediated (datasheet M01857-1) | |
| Positive control | Soft tissue+3 more · see all | |
| Negative control | Adipose tissue+4 more · see all |
| Fixation | Keep fixation consistent across sections (standard IHC practice; not target-specific); Matched tissue-IHC evidence does not establish the fixation claim. Validate the specimen-specific method before use. (selected-SKU IHC image M01857-1) | |
| Caveat | Cross-reactivity may complicate staining interpretation (HPA tissue IHC) | |
| Regulation | Increased in many cancers (UniProt) | |
| Isoform / epitope | 2 isoforms; epitope impact is undetermined (UniProt) |
Compare the catalog antibody’s EDTA pH 8.0 IHC-P protocol (datasheet M01857-1) with published TUBB3 protocols for breast cancer TMAs (PMC4774425) and leiomyosarcoma sections (PMC6033248).
| Sample | Paraffin-embedded human testicular seminoma tissue; fixative not specified (datasheet M01857-1) |
| Fixation | Image fixative and duration unreported (datasheet M01857-1); 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 M01857-1); 20 min, 95–100 °C (standard) |
| Peroxidase block | 3% H2O2, 10 min, room temperature (standard) |
| Blocking | 10% goat serum (datasheet M01857-1) |
| Primary antibody | Rabbit monoclonal (clone CC-20) anti-TUBB3, 1:50 (datasheet M01857-1) |
| Primary incubation | Overnight at 4 °C (datasheet M01857-1) |
| Detection | HRP-conjugated secondary, DAB chromogen (datasheet M01857-1) |
| Counterstain | Hematoxylin, blue, dehydrate and mount (standard) |
| Expected result | TUBB3-positive staining in peripheral nerve of soft tissue (HPA tissue IHC: High). HPA tissue profile: Cytoplasmic expression in most tissues, most abundant in CNS, and peripheral nerves. No signal in the no-primary control. |
TUBB3 is a cytoplasmic microtubule protein with no transmembrane segment (UniProt Q13509: location and topology). In paraffin sections, expect staining in neuronal cells and peripheral nerves, with variable staining elsewhere (HPA: tissue IHC). HPA rates its tissue staining profile Approved, but reports medium consistency with RNA data and cautions that the antibodies may detect proteins from more than one gene (HPA: tissue IHC reliability).
| Peripheral nerves stain strongly; neuronal cells in cerebral cortex or hippocampus stain at a moderate level. | This matches the reported cell and tissue pattern: peripheral nerve is High, while neuronal cells in cerebral cortex and hippocampus are Medium (HPA: tissue IHC). Interpret the chromogenic signal in the cytoplasm, consistent with TUBB3’s cytoskeletal location (UniProt Q13509: subcellular location). |
| The dominant signal is confined to nuclei or appears as a membrane outline. | Neither pattern matches the reported cytoplasmic tissue profile or the protein’s cytoskeletal location and lack of a transmembrane segment (HPA: tissue IHC; UniProt Q13509: location and topology). Review the staining and detection controls before assigning the signal to TUBB3 (general IHC practice). |
| A cell type listed as Not detected stains prominently, such as adipocytes or bone marrow hematopoietic cells. | Those cell types are reported as Not detected (HPA: tissue IHC). Consider cross-reactivity or endogenous detection activity and compare with controls (general IHC practice). The HPA profile itself cautions about presumed off-target binding and antibodies targeting proteins from more than one gene (HPA: tissue IHC reliability). |
| Brown color is diffuse across the section and does not resolve into stained cells or structures. | A uniform haze is hard to reconcile with the reported cell-specific differences, including High peripheral nerves and Not detected adipocytes (HPA: tissue IHC). Check background controls, blocking, washing and detection chemistry before scoring the section (general IHC practice). |
| A known-positive peripheral nerve has no detectable signal. | Peripheral nerve is reported High and is a useful positive reference for this pattern (HPA: tissue IHC). First confirm that the positive reference is present on the section, then check the staining workflow and detection controls (general IHC practice). A negative run alone cannot establish absence of TUBB3. |
| Tissue and cell selection | Peripheral nerve is High; cerebral cortex and hippocampal neuronal cells are Medium; pachytene spermatocytes are also High (HPA: tissue IHC). Select controls by the named cell type, since a tissue label alone does not define which cells should stain (general IHC practice). |
| Interpretation of weak staining | HPA describes cytoplasmic expression in most tissues and lists Low staining in several epithelial and glial cell types (HPA: tissue IHC). Weak cytoplasmic staining outside the strongest neural examples is therefore not automatically an artefact; assess its cell type and controls (general IHC practice). |
| Antibody specificity | The tissue profile is Approved, with medium consistency against RNA data; HPA cautions about presumed off-target binding and detection of proteins from more than one gene (HPA: tissue IHC reliability). Treat an unexpected positive cell type as provisional until controls support it (general IHC practice). |
| Isoforms and modified residues | UniProt lists two isoforms and modified residues at positions 172, 438 and 444 (UniProt Q13509: isoforms and modified residues). No antibody epitope is supplied, so these annotations do not establish isoform preference, staining intensity or a retrieval requirement. |
| IF/ICC Q: What localisation can corroborate the IHC pattern? | A: HPA supports microtubules as the main IF/ICC location and also reports structures including the mitotic spindle and cytokinetic bridge (HPA: subcellular). Its IF/ICC summary cautions that the antibodies target proteins from multiple genes; use that pattern as a localisation cross-check, not proof of TUBB3 specificity. |
| Situation | Likely cause | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| No staining in peripheral nerve | The expected High control is absent or the staining workflow failed (HPA: peripheral nerve High; general IHC practice). | Confirm peripheral nerve is represented on the section and review the run’s positive control, reagent steps and chromogen development (general IHC practice). |
| Signal appears nuclear only | The compartment disagrees with cytoplasmic tissue staining and cytoskeletal localisation (HPA: tissue IHC; UniProt Q13509: location). | Check counterstain and detection controls, then compare with a section containing an expected cytoplasmic positive cell type (general IHC practice; HPA: tissue IHC). |
| Prominent staining in adipocytes or hematopoietic cells | Both are reported Not detected; non-specific antibody binding or endogenous detection activity is possible (HPA: tissue IHC; general IHC practice). | Inspect appropriate background controls and review blocking and detection steps; keep the finding provisional given HPA’s off-target caution (general IHC practice; HPA: tissue IHC reliability). |
| Diffuse brown background obscures cells | Excess background from staining or detection can prevent cell-level interpretation (general IHC practice). | Check background controls and review blocking, washes, antibody dilution and chromogen development before scoring (general IHC practice). |
| Weak neuronal staining beside strong peripheral nerve staining | Different reported levels may explain the contrast: neuronal cells in cortex and hippocampus are Medium; peripheral nerve is High (HPA: tissue IHC). | Score the named cell types separately and compare each with its expected level; check controls if neuronal staining is absent (HPA: tissue IHC; general IHC practice). |
| An unexpected positive population persists across runs | The antibody may detect proteins from more than one gene, and HPA reports presumed off-target binding (HPA: tissue IHC reliability). | Record the cell type and compartment, compare with HPA’s reported pattern, and seek independent specificity evidence before attributing the signal to TUBB3 (HPA: tissue IHC; general IHC practice). |
Comprehensive Human Protein Atlas IHC scoring per tissue (reliability: Approved — Medium consistency between antibody staining and RNA expression data. Caution, targets protein from more than one gene. Presumed off target binding observed and disregarded.). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soft tissue | Peripheral nerve | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Testis | Pachytene spermatocytes | High | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Cerebral cortex | Neuronal cells | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| Hippocampus | Neuronal cells | Medium | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
| 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 → |
| Cerebellum | Cells in granular layer | Not detected | Protein (IHC) | HPA → |
Use the documented paraffin-section workflow as the starting point for TUBB3 chromogenic IHC, then assess staining by cell type and compartment (datasheet M01857-1; HPA tissue IHC).
Three anti-TUBB3 rabbit monoclonal antibodies have human tissue IHC images; two also have IF image captions. All list human, mouse and rat reactivity (catalog: image captions and reactivity).
M01857-1 has IHC images of paraffin-embedded human testicular seminoma and thyroid papillary carcinoma, plus an IF image of A431 cells (catalog: M01857-1 image captions). M01857 has an IHC image of paraffin-embedded human ovarian cancer and an IF image caption; M01857-6 has IHC images of human appendix and mouse brain (catalog: M01857 and M01857-6 image captions).
Which to pick: For paraffin-section IHC, choose M01857-1 for its human tissue images using EDTA retrieval at pH 8.0 and a 1:50 primary dilution, or M01857 for its ovarian cancer image using citrate retrieval at pH 6 (catalog: each SKU’s IHC image caption). For IF/ICC, choose M01857-1: both applications are listed and its IF image caption identifies A431 cells (catalog: M01857-1 applications and IF image caption). For cross-species tissue IHC, M01857-6 has human appendix and mouse brain images and lists rat reactivity; its captions give no processing details, and the fixative is unreported for all three SKUs (catalog: image captions and reactivity).