Immunohistochemistry of cytochrome P-450 21-hydroxylase: microscopic examination of the enzyme in the bovine adrenal cortex and kidney.

Cytochrome P-450 specific for steroid 21-hydroxylase (P-450C21) localized in bovine adrenal cortex and kidney was immunocytochemically observed by the peroxidase-antiperoxidase method using a specific antibody. P-450C21 was present in all three zones of the adrenal cortex. Immunoreactivity for P-450C21 was intense in the zona glomerulosa and inner reticularis and faint in the area between the zona glomerulosa and outer fasciculata, probably representing the zona intermedia. The positive stain was only observed in parenchymal cells. The immunoreactivity varied within each zone, especially in the zona reticularis. In the kidney, immunoreactivity for P-450C21 was exclusively localized in the distal and cortical and medullary collecting tubules. This corresponds to the site of mineralocorticoid action in the kidney. No immunoreactivity was observed in the liver and aorta.