Volume 52 (2): 243-252, 2004 Copyright ©The Histochemical Society, Inc. Expression of MAL2, an Integral Protein Component of the Machinery for Basolateral-to-Apical Transcytosis, in Human Epithelia
Departmento de Endocrinología (MM,MAGL) and Departamento de Patología (AA,MA), Hospital de la Princesa, and Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa," Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CdM,MAA), Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain Correspondence to: Miguel A. Alonso, Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa," Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain. E-mail: maalonso{at}cbm.uam.es
MAL2, an integral membrane protein of the MAL family, is an essential component of the machinery necessary for the indirect transcytotic route of apical transport in human hepatoma HepG2 cells. To characterize the range of human epithelia that use MAL2-mediated pathways of transport, we carried out an immunohistochemical survey of normal tissues using a monoclonal antibody specific to the MAL2 protein. MAL2 expression was detected in specific types of normal epithelial cells throughout the respiratory system, the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts, in exocrine and endocrine glands, and in hepatocytes. Many different types of specialized secretory cells, either organized in discrete clusters (e.g., endocrine cells in the pancreas) or in endocrine glands (e.g., prostate), were also positive for MAL2. In addition to epithelial cells, peripheral neurons, mast cells, and dendritic cells were found to express MAL2. For comparison with normal epithelial tissue, different types of renal carcinoma were also analyzed, revealing alterations in MAL2 expression/distribution dependent on the particular histological type of the tumor. Our results allow the prediction of the existence of MAL2-based trafficking pathways in specific cell types and suggest applications of the anti-MAL2 antibody for the characterization of neoplastic tissue. (J Histochem Cytochem 52:243252, 2004)
Key Words: epithelial cell sorting machinery transcytosis MAL protein family rafts carcinoma
APICAL TRANSPORT of proteins takes place in epithelial cells by two different routes, referred to as the direct and the indirect pathways. Newly synthesized apical proteins relying on the direct route are packaged after their passage through the Golgi in vesicular carriers destined for the apical surface. In contrast, proteins transported by the indirect route are first targeted to the basolateral surface and then endocytosed and transported across the cell to the apical surface by the transcytotic pathway. All epithelia appear to use the indirect pathway, whereas the direct pathway is used to a greater or lesser extent depending on the tissue in question. Hepatocytes and hepatocyte-related cell lines (such as hepatoma HepG2 cells) mostly rely on the indirect pathway for apical transport, whereas other epithelia and most epithelial cell lines (e.g., renal MDCK cells or enterocytic Caco-2 cells) use both pathways to various degrees.
A direct apical transport pathway appears to be mediated by integration of cargo protein into specialized glycolipid- and cholesterol-enriched membrane microdomains or rafts that subsequently originate vesicular carriers destined for the apical surface (Simons and WandingerNess 1990
MAL is the founder member of the MAL family which also includes MAL2, BENE and other unedited proteins (Pérez et al. 1997
Antibodies The mouse hybridoma that produces MAb 9E10 to the c-Myc epitope was purchased from the American Type Culture Collection (Bethesda, MD) and used to produce MAb 9E10. The MAbs 9D1, 6D9, and 5B1 to human MAL2 (de Marco et al. 2002
Transfection and Immunoblotting Analyis
IHC Analysis of Human Samples
All samples were fixed for several hours in 10% neutral buffered formalin and subjected to routine tissue processing and paraffin embedding. Sections 5 µm thick were prepared from paraffin-embedded tissues and mounted on poly-L-lysine-coated glass microslides. Antigen retrieval was accomplished by subjecting deparaffinized sections to pressure-cooker unmasking for 60 sec in 200 mM citrate buffer, pH 6.0. The tissue was then blocked with a 1:20 dilution of normal rabbit serum in 10 mM Tris-HCl saline buffer, pH 7.6, as previously described (Marazuela et al. 1995
The predicted structure of the MAL2, MAL, and BENE proteins with indication of the peptide sequences used to prepare the corresponding MAb is depicted schematically in Figure 1A . The generation and characterization of the anti-MAL2 MAb 9D1 used for the immunohistochemical IHC analysis described in this study has been reported previously (de Marco et al. 2002
Because the function of MAL2 has been already established (de Marco et al. 2002
Sections of skin, including keratinizing squamous epithelium, dermis with adnexa, and subcutaneous fibroadipose tissue, were examined. The apical third of the keratinizing squamous epithelium was stained (our unpublished results). All other layers of squamous epithelium as well as subcutaneous fibroadipose tissue were negative (our unpublished results). Reactivity was found in sebaceous glands (Figure 4). Evaluation of the gastrointestinal tract included examination of esophagus, stomach, ileum, colon, liver, and pancreas. The gastrointestinal epithelium was positive for MAL2 at all sites examined. In the esophagus, the stratified squamous, non-keratinized epithelium was strongly positive (Figure 5). The staining was more pronounced in the basal layer (Figure 5). When the stratified epithelium changed to the gastric, mucus-secreting simple columnar epithelium of the stomach there was positive staining confined to the apical portion of the surface mucosa cell (Figure 6). In addition, parietal cells, responsible for the secretion of hydrochloric acid and intrinsic factor, were highly immunoreactive (Figure 6). In the small intestine, staining of the cells of the villi showed a characteristic pattern of reactivity with strong supranuclear granular positivity but no staining at the basal or lateral membranes (Figures 7A and 7B). This distribution corresponds to the location of the Golgi apparatus. In addition, secretory caliciform cells were strongly positive (Figure 7C). Throughout the gastrointestinal tract, lymphocytes from Peyer's patches, the smooth muscle of the muscularis mucosa, and the striated muscle of the muscle coat did not stain with the anti-MAL2 antibody. The mucous epithelium of the large intestine had a similar pattern of MAL2 expression, with apical staining, to that of the small intestine (Figure 7D). In normal liver, hepatocytes showed granular cytoplasmatic staining for MAL2 (Figure 8A). Bile duct epithelium and biliary canaliculi were strongly positive (data not shown; and Figure 8B). Sinusoidal lining cells and Kupffer cells were negative. Granular positivity was found in the supranuclear area of acinic cells in the pancreas (Figure 9A). Pancreatic ducts were strongly stained (Figure 9A). In addition, sporadic cells were stained in the islets of Langerhans (Figure 9B). Multiple sites of the genitourinary tract expressed the MAL2 molecule. In the kidney, MAL2 was widespread in specific parts of the kidney glomeruli and tubuli (Figure 10A) . In the cortex, the epithelial side of the glomerular loops showed linear staining that suggested podocyte staining (Figure 10B). Endothelial cells of the glomeruli were negative (Figure 10B). MAL2 was expressed in the distal convoluted tubules but not in the proximal tubules (Figure 10C). Staining was more pronounced in some cells of the tubules than in others (Figure 10C). Intense labeling was also observed in the collecting tubules of the medulla (our unpublished results).
The hematopoietic tissues analyzed included thymus, lymph node, and tonsil. In normal lymph node and tonsil there were similar staining patterns. Staining was confined to follicular dendritic cells (Figure 11A). In contrast to the lack of expression of the MAL2 antigen in normal endothelial cells, endothelial cells in high endothelial venules (HEVS) were strongly positive, with a characteristic apical distribution (Figure 11A). Lymphocytes were negative (Figure 11A). In the thymus, MAL2 expression was found on epithelial cells and Hassall's corpuscles (Figure 11B). In the lung, the ciliated columnar epithelium of bronchi and bronchioles were positive (Figure 12A). Staining was confined to the apical aspect of the cells. In the alveoli, cells lining the alveolar walls were positive (Figure 12B). In addition, large cells with the appearance of type 2 pneumocytes stained strongly with anti-MAL2 antibody (Figure 12B). In the endocrine glands, the epithelium of the prostate glands showed intense reactivity in its apical aspect (Figure 13). In the testis, Leydig cells were strongly positive (Figure 14). In addition, faint staining was found in Sertoli cells but not in spermatogenic cells (Figure 14). In the adrenal gland, the medulla showed intense granular staining (Figure 15). Although all the layers of the cortex showed staining, it was stronger in the zona reticularis (Figure 15). The distinct types of renal cell carcinoma examined showed differential staining pattern. Renal oncocytomas showed none (Figure 16) . Although the majority of renal clear cell carcinoma showed no staining with the MAL2 antibody (Figure 17), intense focal staining was found in some of the tumors analyzed (Figure 18). Conversely, cells from chromophobe carcinomas showed intense diffuse staining, which was more pronounced on the apical side and also in some cells compared to others (Figure 19). Papillary renal cell carcinomas showed a staining similar to that of normal kidney, whereby it was more pronounced in some cells of the tubules than in others (Figure 20). Granular cell-type tumors showed intense granular cytoplasmic staining (Figure 21). Sarcomatoid carcinoma of kidney was negative for MAL2 expression (our unpublished data).
Expression of Machinery for Direct and Indirect Routes of Apical Transport in Human Epithelial Cells The demonstrated role of MAL (Cheong et al. 1999
Simultaneous expression of both MAL2 and MAL was found in the epithelium of the esophagus, small and large intestine, pancreas, prostate, bronchi and trachea, and thyroid and adrenal glands. Among these epithelia are absorptive cells (e.g., enterocytes) as well as many different types of specialized secretory cells either organized in discrete clusters (e.g., endocrine cells in the pancreas), grouped in an endocrine gland (e.g., prostate), or interspersed with other cells in glands (e.g., parietal cells in the stomach). Because of its demonstrated role in apical secretion of soluble proteins (MartínBelmonte et al. 2001 An interesting scenario arises in the liver, in which all the hepatocytes are positive for MAL2 expression but only those localized in the centrilobular area express MAL. This reflects heterogeneity in the use of the direct pathway by hepatocytes related to the distance to the terminal hepatic venule, which defines the center of the centrilobular area. This differential expression of MAL is probably related to specialized tasks of centrilobular hepatocytes, such as centripetal transport from the portal space to the hepatic venule. As examples of differences in the use of the MAL and MAL2 routes of transport in related epithelial cell types, it is worth considering a few selected cases. For example, the columnar epithelium lining the proximal convoluted tubules was negative for MAL2 and MAL expression, whereas the cuboidal epithelium of the distal convoluted tubules was positive. This difference might be related to the specific function of these two epithelia. The proximal tubule is specialized in reabsorption of components of the glomerular filtrate, whereas distal tubules control saline and acidbase balances in the urine. An interesting case is that of the cuboidal endothelium of the HEVs, which express both MAL2 and MAL, whereas the flattened endothelial cells of normal blood vessels are negative for both. Although both types of endothelia have a common role lining blood vessels and regulating blood coagulation, HEVs in lymphoid organs are specialized as the main site for constitutive extravasation during lymphocyte recircularization. The specific expression of MAL2 and MAL suggests that membrane trafficking in HEVs has additional transport requirements from those of normal endothelial cells. Another interesting comparison is that of type 1 and type 2 pneumocytes, the main cellular components of the alveoli. The flat type 1 pneumocytes, which are involved in gas exchange, do not express detectable levels of MAL although they are positive for MAL2 expression. In contrast, round type 2 pneumocytes, which secrete surfactant, a complex mixture of lipid, carbohydrates, and proteins that protects the alveolar surface, express both MAL and MAL2. This expression pattern is consistent with the idea that MAL expression might be related to surfactant secretion by type 2 pneumocytes, while MAL2 would be in charge of the indirect apical route in both types of pneumocyte. In the case of nonepithelial cells it is worth emphasizing that T-lymphocytes express MAL but not MAL2, whereas the opposite is true in peripheral neurons and follicular dendritic cells. Mast cells were positive for both MAL2 and MAL expression. Although these cell types do not polarize segregating apical and basolateral surfaces, they are polarized cells and the expression of MAL2 and/or MAL suggests the existence in these cells of transport pathways reminiscent of the direct or indirect routes of polarized epithelia.
Applications of the Anti-MAL2 MAb 9D1
Supported by grants from the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología (BMC2003-03297), the Comunidad de Madrid (08.5/0066.1/2001), Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (01/0085-01 and -02), and Fundación Eugenio Rodriguez Pascual.
Received for publication June 2, 2003; accepted September 22, 2003
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