Membrane antigens shared by renal proximal tubules and other epithelia associated with absorption and excretion.

The distribution of shared antigens in specialized surface membranes of epithelia associated with absorption and excretion was studied using antisera against isolated epithelial brush borders of renal proximal tubules. Rabbits were immunized with a membrane fraction isolated from rat kidneys and the reactions of the resulting heterologous antisera with different rat organs were studied by immunofluorescence. The antisera reacted with the following structures: epithelial brush border of renal proximal tubules, bile canaliculi and bile duct epithelium of the liver, epithelial brush border of the intestinal villi, luminal parts of some epididymal tubules, allantochorionic epithelium, and apical parts of the exocrine epithelium of the pancreatic, salivary and lacrimal glands. Both quantitative and qualitative differences in antigen contents were suggested by absorption experiments.