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Immunohistochemical identification of type 2 pneumocytes by an antibody to a lamellar body-enriched fraction of lung homogenate

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Abstract

An antibody for immunohistochemical identification of alveolar type 2 pneumoyctes was prepared by immunization of rabbits with a lamellar-body-enriched fraction of mouse lung homogenate. Following absorption with mouse serum and tissue membrane fractions the antibody preparation was shown to be monospecific by immunodiffusion against delipidated lamellar body proteins. Immunoperoxidase staining of tissues revealed specific labeling of alveolar type 2 pneumoyctes, best demonstrated in acetone-fixed frozen sections, together with staining of the surfactant layer lining most small and medium-sized airways. Immunospecific staining was seen in sections of mouse, rat, and human lung, and clearly demonstrated hypertrophic and hyperplastic type 2 pneumocytes in human fibrosing alveolitis (interstitial pulmonary fibrosis). The antibody also stained cells of a type 2 pneumocyte-related strain derived from normal adult mouse lung. No cross-reactivity with cells of other tissues or in vitro cell lines was observed. The immunostaining pattern is consistent with the notion that the antibody recognizes a surfactant apoprotein. The antibody may usefully be employed as an immunologic marker of the in vivo and in vitro responses of type 2 pneumocytes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Pathology, The University of New South Wales, P. O. Box 1, 2033, Kensington, Australia

    R. K. Kumar, A. W. J. Lykke, J. Y. Truscott, S. G. Watkins & G. J. Smith

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  1. R. K. Kumar
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  2. A. W. J. Lykke
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  3. J. Y. Truscott
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  4. S. G. Watkins
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  5. G. J. Smith
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Kumar, R.K., Lykke, A.W.J., Truscott, J.Y. et al. Immunohistochemical identification of type 2 pneumocytes by an antibody to a lamellar body-enriched fraction of lung homogenate. Lung 163, 243–253 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02713824

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02713824

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