Tamm-Horsfall protein outside the kidney.

Tamm-Horsfall protein is the main protein in normal urine and readily precipitates. Previously there has been little study of the protein outside the kidney. An antiserum to the protein was used in an immunohistological investigation of human tissues. No Tamm-Horsfall protein was detected in normal organs other than the kidney. The protein was detected outside the kidney in abnormal organs in three general sites: (i) in ulcers of epithelial surfaces exposed to urine, (ii) deep in the wall of a bladder that had had previous surgery and (iii) in lymph nodes at the hilum of kidneys that had been obstructed or contained extra-tubular deposits of the protein. There was little evidence of a cellular response to the deposits of Tamm-Horsfall protein. The antiserum to Tamm-Horsfall protein is a good immunohistological marker of extravasated urine and is useful in the study of such conditions as fistulas of the urinary tract, operations on the urinary tract and reflux of urine into lymphatics and lymph nodes.