BIOSYNTHESIS OF ABH AND LEWIS ANTIGENS IN NORMAL AND TRANSPLANTED KIDNEYS

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Abstract
The possibility that kidney cells may synthesize ABH and Lewis antigens was explored at three different levels: (1) urinary excretion of antigens in transplant recipients, (2) presence of glycosyltransferase activities, and (3) immunofluorescent localization of antigens in normal kidney tissue. Analysis of urine from blood group A or B recipients grafted with kidneys from type O donors and from other combinations, showed that about two-thirds of excreted ABH macromolecules are produced by the kidney and this synthesis is not regulated by the recipient's secretor system. The remaining one-third of ABH substances, which may come from the blood stream, have either the A or B specificities of the recipient and their synthesis is regulated by the recipient's secretor system. Analysis of urine from Lewis-negative kidney recipients showed that most of the urinary Lewis macromolecules are synthesized by the transplanted kidney. The glycosyltransferase activities necessary for the synthesis of ABH and Lewis antigens were found in the cortex, medulla, and glomeruli of normal kidney tissue. A or B enzymes were only detected in tissue of appropriate blood group. The H enzyme was present in the purified glomeruli, irrespective of the secretor status, and Lewis enzyme was only found in preparations from Lewis-positive kidneys. Both ABH and Lewis antigens were found by immunofluorescence in epithelial cells of distal convoluted and collecting tubules, while ABH but not Lewis antigens were found in vascular endothelia. If these antigens play a role in the immune rejection of the transplanted kidney, differences in the mode of rejection might be related to their tissue distribution.

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