Immunological localization of an 80-kDa phosphoprotein to the apical membrane of gastric parietal cells

Monoclonal antibodies were raised against an 80-kDa phosphoprotein (80K) that is phosphorylated upon stimulation of gastric acid secretion and that copurifies with the acid-forming H+-K+-ATPase isolated from stimulated tissue. These antibodies were used to demonstrate that in the gastric mucosa 80K is limited to parietal cells and not found in surface, mucous neck, or chief cells. 80K was also found in other transporting epithelia, including intestine and kidney, but was not found in brain, liver, red blood cells, or colon. Immunohistological localization of 80K in resting glands revealed a fine network, projecting from the gland lumen and anastomosing throughout the parietal cell. This network is quite similar to the staining pattern for F-actin contained in microvilli that line the apical membrane of parietal cells. Stimulation of acid secretion rearranges 80K to a more rugose pattern filling the entire cell. In stimulated cells the distribution pattern of 80K is indistinguishable from that stained with antibodies against the H+-K+-ATPase. These data strongly suggest that 80K is an apical membrane protein of the parietal cell.