Immunocytochemical localization of carbonic anhydrase on ultrathin frozen sections with protein A-gold.

The protein A-gold technique was used to localize carbonic anhydrase isozymes on ultrathin frozen sections of kidney collecting duct epithelial cells and erythrocytes. The particulate nature of the gold marker gives a more precise appreciation of the intracellular distribution of this enzyme than has been previously possible, and allows the intensity of the labeling to be quantified. Intercalated cells showed four times more labeling over the cytosol than adjacent principal cells in collecting ducts from the inner stripe of the outer medulla: by double-labeling using protein A-gold particles of different sizes, carbonic anhydrase isozymes B and C were simultaneously localized in erythrocytes.