Identification of ADP-ribosylation factor-6 in brush-border membrane and early endosomes of human kidney proximal tubules.

The expression and distribution of ADP-ribosylation factor (ARF) small GTP-binding proteins in kidney tissue was examined. Various anti-ARF antibodies were raised against purified rec-ARF 1 and rec-ARF 6 and their specificity was determined. Using indirect immunofluorescence analysis of intact kidney, ARF proteins were found to be predominantly expressed in kidney tubules as compared to glomeruli. This result was further supported by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and Western blot analysis of purified human kidney glomeruli and proximal tubules. Both ARF 1 and ARF 6 were detected in purified human glomeruli and proximal tubules; however, ARF 1 was more abundant than ARF 6 in these kidney structures. Brush-border membrane vesicles (BBMV) and early endosomes (EE) derived from the receptor-mediated endocytosis pathway were isolated from purified proximal tubules of rat, dog and human kidney using a combination of magnesium precipitation and wheat-germ agglutinin negative selection techniques. We demonstrated that ARF 6 is associated with BBMV and with EE derived from receptor-mediated endocytosis pathway of human kidney proximal tubules. Using a combination of SDS-PAGE and quantitative enhanced chemiluminescence Western blot analysis, the quantification of the ARF 6 distribution in membrane and cytoplasmic fractions of proximal tubules was made and its predominance in membrane fractions was demonstrated. By analogy with the functional role of ARF 1 in Golgi protein transport, we suggest that ARF 6 may play an important role in the regulation of receptor-mediated endocytosis and protein reabsorption by kidney proximal tubules.