Sulfated HNK-1 epitope in developing and mature kidney: a new marker for thin ascending loop of Henle and tubular injury in acute tubular necrosis.

Abstract

The HNK-1 carbohydrate epitope is a 3-sulfo-glucuronyl residue attached to lactosamine structures on glycoproteins, proteoglycans, or glycolipids mostly expressed in the nervous system. Here, using monoclonal antibodies against the sulfated HNK-1 carbohydrate epitope, we first examined its distribution in developing and adult kidneys, then its expression in kidneys with tubular necrosis and renal neoplasms. This HNK-1 epitope was expressed in the human, rabbit, and rat, but not mouse kidney. It was detected within a subset of epithelial cells in the renal vesicle and in comma- and S-shaped bodies during early stages of nephrogenesis. In ureteral bud derivatives, the epitope was present transiently in the area where the collecting duct fused with the nephron. In the adult kidney, expression of the HNK-1 epitope became mainly restricted to the thin ascending loop of Henle where this epitope was carried by heparan- and chondro-proteoglycan. In pathological conditions, HNK-1 epitope expression increased dramatically in proximal epithelial tubule cells in kidneys with acute tubular necrosis. In tumors, the HNK-1 epitope was expressed in the epithelial component of nephroblastomas and in a subgroup of papillary renal cell carcinomas. These data suggest that molecules carrying the sulfated HNK-1 carbohydrate epitope may play an important role in critical stages of renal development and in the physiology of thin ascending loop of Henle.

• Authors: Yves Allory, Frédéric Commo, Liliane Boccon-Gibod, Mathilde Sibony, Patrice Callard, Pierre Ronco, Hanna Debiec
• Journal: The journal of histochemistry and cytochemistry : official journal of the Histochemistry Society (J Histochem Cytochem) Vol. 54 Issue 5 Pg. 575-84 (May 2006) ISSN: 0022-1554 [Print] United States
• PMID: 16401697 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Biomarkers
• CD57 Antigens
• Epitopes
• Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule L1
• Neural Cell Adhesion Molecules
• Proteoglycans

Topics

• Animals
• Biomarkers (metabolism)
• CD57 Antigens (metabolism)
• Epitopes
• Humans
• Immunohistochemistry
• Immunoprecipitation
• Kidney (embryology, metabolism, pathology)
• Kidney Neoplasms (metabolism, pathology)
• Kidney Tubular Necrosis, Acute (metabolism, pathology)
• Loop of Henle (embryology, metabolism, pathology)
• Male
• Mice
• Mice, Inbred C57BL
• Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule L1 (metabolism)
• Neural Cell Adhesion Molecules (metabolism)
• Proteoglycans (metabolism)
• Rabbits
• Rats
• Rats, Wistar