Studies on the localization of the glycoprotein GP-2 within the renal glomerulus in vivo and in cultured kidney cell strains in vitro.

Positive staining for the glycoprotein GP-2 was demonstrated in the kidney glomerulus by use of the indirect peroxidase-labeled antibody technique. At the ultrastructural level, heaviest staining for GP-2 was demonstrated along the lamina rara externa and lamina rara interna of the glomerular and tubular basement membranes, demonstrating definite molecular organization for structures which appear amorphous even at the electron microscopic level. However, GP-2 was also present in the lamina densa of the glomerular basement membrane, but not of the tubular basement membrane. The staining for GP-2 is in contrast to the predominantly mesangial staining for fibronectin. Using the indirect immunoperoxidase techniques for kidney cells cultured in vitro, it was demonstrated that cell surfaces of specific subpopulations of glomerular cells stained heavily for both fibronectin and GP-2, while renal medullary cells did not stain at all using specific antiserum to these molecules. GP-2 was present extracellularly and showed moderate staining in glomerular cell culture, while fibronectin showed heavy staining in this location.