Immunohistochemical localization of the prostaglandin-forming cyclooxygenase in renal cortex.

An immunohistofluorescence procedure for detecting prostaglandin-forming cyclooxygenase has been used to localize the enzyme in the renal cortex of the cow, guinea pig, rabbit, rat, and sheep. Cyclooxygenase antigenicity was found in endothelial cells lining all arteries and arterioles and in cortical collecting tubules in each species examined. The enzyme was also detected in epithelial cells of Bowman's capsule in the rabbit and in mesangial cells in both ovine and bovine glomerular tufts. That prostaglandins can be formed in renal resistance vessels suggests that it is the synthesis occurring in these vessels which is responsible for the effects of prostaglandins on renal blood flow. Of further note is the correlation that exists between the location of the cyclooxygenase and that of the antidiuretic hormone-responsive adenyl cyclase in the distal nephron.