Tissue distribution of the DEC-205 protein that is detected by the monoclonal antibody NLDC-145. II. Expression in situ in lymphoid and nonlymphoid tissues.

The rat monoclonal antibody NLDC-145, which has been utilized as a marker for mouse dendritic cells in numerous studies, binds an antigen that is more broadly distributed. This antigen is a unique 205-kDa integral membrane glycoprotein called DEC-205, which we have recently purified in quantities sufficient for basic biochemical studies, N-terminal sequencing, and immunization of rabbits. In cytofluorographic experiments, both the new polyclonal antibody and the original monoclonal detected DEC-205 on many classes of nondendritic murine leukocytes, particularly B cells. The quantities of DEC-205 on the surfaces of these cells were 10 to 50 times lower than those on epidermal and bone marrow dendritic cells. Here we utilize these reagents to reassess the tissue distribution of DEC-205 by immunohistochemical staining of frozen sections from a variety of organs, and by multiple-organ immunoblotting. Abundant expression of DEC-205 was confirmed histologically on thymic and intestinal epithelia and on dendritic cells in the T cell areas of peripheral lymphoid organs. In addition, DEC-205 was visualized in several other locations: B lymphocytes within B cell follicles, the stroma of the bone marrow, the epithelia of pulmonary airways, and the capillaries of the brain. Immunoblotting confirmed the presence of substantial levels of DEC-205 protein in lysates prepared from lymphoid tissues and from lung, marrow, and intestine. Thus, while DEC-205 is expressed at high levels by dendritic cells, it is also expressed by a number of other cell types in situ.