The aim of the dictionary is to facilitate the interpretation and use of the image-based data available in the Human Protein Atlas, but also to serve as a tool for training and understanding tissue histology, pathology and cell biology. The dictionary contains three main parts, normal tissue histology, pathology and cell structure. This dictionary covering normal tissues and pathology is based on full tissue sections stained with hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and representative high-resolution images are displayed at different magnifications. The cell atlas covers intra-cellular structures and is based on immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy images, using different color channels to highlight the organelle structure of a cell.
A fourth part of this dictionary, protein expression, shows examples of immunohistochemistry and demonstrates how well-known proteins are expressed in various cells of different tissues.


Tissue & cell types

Adrenal gland Anal skin Appendix Bone marrow Breast Bronchus Caudate Cerebellum Cerebral cortex Cervix, uterine Colon Duodenum Endometrium Epididymis Esophagus Fallopian tube Gallbladder Heart muscle Hippocampus Kidney Liver Lung Lymph node Nasopharynx Oral mucosa Ovary Pancreas Parathyroid gland Placenta Prostate Rectum Salivary gland Seminal vesicle Skeletal muscle Skin Small intestine Smooth muscle Soft tissue Spleen Stomach Testis Thyroid gland Tonsil Urinary bladder Vagina


Breast cancer Carcinoid Cervical cancer Colorectal cancer Endometrial cancer Glioma Head and neck cancer Liver cancer Lung cancer Lymphoma Melanoma Ovarian cancer Pancreatic cancer Prostate cancer Renal cancer Skin cancer Stomach cancer Testis cancer Thyroid cancer Urothelial cancer

Cell structures

Actin filaments Aggresome Cell Junctions Centriolar satellite Centrosome Cleavage furrow Cytokinetic bridge Cytoplasmic bodies Cytosol Endoplasmic reticulum Endosomes Focal adhesion sites Golgi apparatus Intermediate filaments Lipid droplets Lysosomes Microtubule ends Microtubules Midbody Midbody ring Mitochondria Mitotic spindle Nuclear bodies Nuclear membrane Nuclear speckles Nucleoli Nucleoli fibrillar center Nucleoplasm Peroxisomes Plasma membrane Rods & Rings Vesicles


Smooth muscle marker AMACR
Marker for prostate cancer AMY1A
Amylase - Marker for salivary gland and pancreas CD1A
Marker for antigen presenting cells CD3E
CD3 - General T cell marker CD4
T helper cell marker CD55
Marker for the reticular network in lymphatic tissues CD68
General monocyte/histiocyte/macrophage marker CD79A
General B cell marker CD8A
CD8 - T cytotoxic cell marker CDH1
E-cadherin - Marker for non-neural epithelial cells CDX2
Marker for cells in the gastrointestinal tract CHGA
Chromogranin A - Marker for neuroendocrine cells DES
Desmin - Marker for muscle cells ERBB2
HER2 - Treatment predictive marker for cancer ESR1
Estrogen receptor alpha - Marker for female tissues and cancers FLG
Filaggrin - Differentiation marker for squamous epithelia GAST
Gastrin - Marker for G-cells of the stomach GCG
Glucagon - Marker for pancreatic alpha-cells GFAP
Glial fibrillary acidic protein - Marker for astrocytes INS
Insulin - Marker for pancreatic beta-cells KLK3
PSA - Marker for normal prostate and prostate cancer KRT18
Keratin 18 - Epithelial cell marker used for differential diagnostics of cancer KRT19
Keratin 19 - Epithelial cell marker used for differential diagnostics of cancer KRT20
Keratin 20 - Epithelial cell marker used for differential diagnostics of cancer KRT6A
Keratin 6 (KRT6) - Epithelial cell marker used for differential diagnostics of cancer MKI67
Ki-67 - General marker for proliferation MLANA
Melan-A - Marker for normal melanocytes and melanoma MME
CD10 - Marker for acute lymphoblastic leukemia NKX2-1
NK2 homeobox 1 (TTF1) - Marker for lungcancer PECAM1
CD31 - Marker for blood vessels PGR
Progesterone receptor - Marker for female tissues and cancers PODXL
Marker for podocytes in glomeruli PTH
Parathyroid hormone - Marker for the parathyroid gland PTPRC
CD45 - General marker for hematopoietic and immune cells. S100B
S100 - Marker for neurogenic and melanocytic cells SATB2
Marker for colorectal cancer SDC1
CD138 - General plasma cell marker SST
Somatostatin - Marker for pancreatic delta-cells TG
Thyroglobulin - Marker for normal thyroid and thyroid cancer TNNT3
Troponin T type 3 - Marker for fast skeletal muscles TP53
Tumor protein p53 - The anti-cancer watchdog TP63
P63 - Marker for basal epithelial cells VIM
Vimentin - Marker for mesenchymal cells
Complementary annotation dictionaries using antibodies found in the Human Protein Atlas are available as PDF-documents:
Immunohistochemistry annotation dictionary: screen usage (15MB), printing (95MB).