Open AccessImmunohistochemical localization of Zn-alpha 2-glycoprotein in normal human tissues.
Author(s) -
Toyohiro Tada,
Iwao Ohkubo,
Masanari Niwa,
Masanori Sasaki,
Hisashi Tateyama,
Tadaaki Eimoto
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
journal of histochemistry and cytochemistry/the journal of histochemistry and cytochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.971
H-Index - 124
eISSN - 1551-5044
pISSN - 0022-1554
DOI - 10.1177/39.9.1918940
Subject(s) - immunohistochemistry , apocrine , ductal cells , glycoprotein , serous fluid , pancreas , cholangiocyte , biology , epithelium , bone canaliculus , exocrine gland , pathology , endocrinology , medicine , secretion , microbiology and biotechnology , immunology , anatomy
The Zn-alpha 2-glycoprotein (Zn-alpha 2-GP) is present at a high concentration in the seminal plasma and at significant levels in other human body fluids. Its precise localization, however, has remained unclear, as well as its physiological and pathological significance. The present study reports the immunohistochemical localization of this protein in normal adult human tissues. Localization of the reactive product to anti-human plasma Zn-alpha 2-GP antibody was demonstrated in the following cells: luminal and basal cells of the prostate gland, luminal epithelial cells of the acini and of some ducts of the mammary glands, luminal cells of the secretory portion of the eccrine and apocrine sweat glands, serous cells of the salivary, tracheal, and bronchial glands, acinar cells of the esophageal glands, exocrine acinar cells of the pancreas, hepatocytes of the liver, and epithelial cells of the proximal and distal tubules in the kidney. The present results suggest that Zn-alpha 2-GP exerts some unknown but fairly widespread exocrine function and may be produced in the various epithelial cells tested. Hepatocytes are also suggested to be a source of the protein in the blood plasma.