[Hepatoma 27 cells and the epithelium of the large intestine in rats contain the identical set of prekeratin proteins].

It has been shown by means of the immunoblot technique in combination with monoclonal antibodies and peptide mapping that hepatocytes, hepatoma 27 cells, and rat colon enterocytes exhibit a common prekeratin protein with a molecular weight of 49 kD (PK49). This protein and vimentin, a protein contained by intermediate filaments of mesenchymal cells, share at least one antigenic determinant. The generally accepted procedure for prekeratin purification leads to a more or less pronounced degradation of PK49. The degree of degradation is dependent on the type of the tissue extracted. High heterogenicity of prekeratin polypeptides described elsewhere might be due partly to such a degradation process. In addition to PK49, hepatoma 27 cells, absorbing, goblet and proliferating cells of the colon demonstrated three more prekeratin proteins: two major (PK55 and PK40) and one minor (PK53). Monoclonal antibodies not reacting with PK49 do not recognize PK55, PK53 and PK40. PK55, PK49 and PK40 of hepatoma 27 are identical to the appropriate proteins of the colonic epithelium as judged by peptide mapping. Thus, the cells of the hepatocyte origin are able to synthesize the same prekeratins as the colonic epithelium.