Abstract
We evaluated the age-related distribution of adenosine deaminase (ADA) and adenosine deaminase-complexing protein (CP) in rabbit kidney by immunohistochemical staining procedures. Paraffin- or resin-embedded tissue from rabbits < 1 week-4 years of age were stained by the peroxidase-anti-peroxidase (PAP) method for ADA and CP. With the exception of neonates, the qualitative staining pattern of each protein remained generally constant with age. In the cortex, distal tubules, blood vessels, histiocytes, and epithelial cells lining Bowman's capsule stained for ADA. Proximal tubules and glomeruli were positive for CP. In contrast to the segregated pattern in the cortex, staining for ADA and CP overlapped in the corticomedullary junction. ADA and CP co-localized on the brush border of tubule cells of the S3 segment. In the cytoplasm of these cells, staining for ADA was characterized by scattered punctuate deposits of peroxidase reaction product. In some instances these punctuate deposits also appeared to be positive for CP. In medulla, epithelial cells of the thin limb were positive for both ADA and CP, whereas papillary collecting ducts stained only for CP. These results document the age-related, tissue-specific expression and localization of ADA in renal tissue, features that probably reflect the crucial role played by the enzyme in adenosine/deoxyadenosine catabolism. In addition, colocalization of ADA and CP on the brush border of cells in the S3 segment of proximal tubules provides support for the hypothesis that one function of CP may be to position ADA on the plasma membrane of specific cell populations, further expanding the enzyme's utility in nucleoside metabolism.