Monoclonal antibody to a common antigen of secretory granule membranes: intracellular localization and recycling of the antigen after secretion.

Monoclonal antibody (MAb) 170-5 was generated to the secretory granule membrane of rat parotid acinar cells. The MAb recognized integral membrane glycoproteins (SG 170 antigen) localized on the luminal side of the secretory granules with N-linked carbohydrates, molecular weights 92, 84, 76, 69, and 65 KD. Immunohistochemical studies indicated that the SG 170 antigen was found in the secretory granules of both exocrine and endocrine cells and in the lysosomes of various cells in the rat. Immunoelectron microscopy with immunogold revealed that the antigen was present on the membrane of the secretory granules, lysosomes, the Golgi vesicles, and condensing vacuoles in pancreatic and parotid acinar cells and in AR42J rat pancreatic tumor cells; the Golgi stacks exhibited no immunoreaction. The common localization of the antigen in the secretory granule membranes indicated that this antigen may play an essential role in regulated secretion. Employing HRP-labeled MAb 170-5, we followed the retrieval of the antigen after exocytosis in AR42J cells. The MAb was internalized specifically with antigen-mediated endocytosis. It was transported to endosomes, subsequently to the trans-Golgi network, and then packaged into secretory granules. However, the Golgi stacks revealed no uptake of the labeled antibody.