Immunologic evidence that vacuolar H+ ATPases with heterogeneous forms of Mr = 31,000 subunit have different membrane distributions in mammalian kidney.

Vacuolar H+ ATPases reside in the plasma membrane of several segments of the mammalian nephron. In the proximal tubule, H+ ATPase is located in both the brush-border microvilli and in subvillar invaginations, while in the collecting duct intercalated cells, it is primarily in plasmalemma-associated membranes. H+ ATPase isolated from bovine kidney brush border has a cluster of polypeptides of Mr greater than 31,000 found associated with the Mr = 31,000 subunit, whereas H+ ATPase isolated from microsomes dose not have the additional associated polypeptides (Wang, Z.-Q., and Gluck, S. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 21957-21965, 1990). In this study, we describe the production of several new monoclonal antibodies to the bovine vacuolar H+ ATPase Mr = 31,000 subunit. Two of the antibodies differed in reactivity to the cluster of Mr greater than 31,000 subunits found in purified bovine kidney brush-border H+ ATPase. Antibody E11 reacted with both the Mr = 31,000 and Mr greater than 31,000 subunits and stained renal brush border intensely. Antibody H8 did not react with the Mr greater than 31,000 polypeptides and did not stain brush border. The heterogeneity of the Mr greater than 31,000 subunits did not appear attributable to glycosylation or phosphorylation. These findings provide further evidence for heterogeneity of the Mr = 31,000 subunit in different renal membrane compartments and suggest a role for the Mr greater than 31,000 polypeptides specific to the brush-border microvilli.