IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL LOCALIZATION AND BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PHYLOGENICALLY CONSERVED THYMUS-BRAIN ANTIGEN (UB-13 ANTIGEN) IN SKATE,RAT AND HUMAN
H. Kuniki et al., IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL LOCALIZATION AND BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PHYLOGENICALLY CONSERVED THYMUS-BRAIN ANTIGEN (UB-13 ANTIGEN) IN SKATE,RAT AND HUMAN, Veterinary immunology and immunopathology, 47(3-4), 1995, pp. 341-349
A monoclonal antibody (UB-13) originally raised against the brain of t
he skate (Raja kenojei, a cartilaginous fish) was found to react with
lymphoid and brain tissues from many species when examined immunohisto
chemically. In rat and human thymus, UB-13 antigen was observed to be
closely associated with reticular tissue in the medulla and cortex, In
terestingly, a few or several thymocytes were encircled by the UB-13-r
eactive reticular tissue, At 14 days gestation, rat thymus consisted m
ainly of reticular epithelial tissue, after which strong thymocyte pro
duction started. At this stage, some of the reticular tissue was heavi
ly stained with UB-13, In the thymus tissues of the irradiated and rec
overing rats, where reduction and massive reproduction of thymocytes w
ere observed, extensive UB-13 antigen expression localized on the reti
cular epithelial tissue, an observation which may support the thymocyt
e re-population. These findings suggest that the antigen recognized by
UB-13 may be important for thymocyte proliferation and maturation. UB
-13 antigen was found in the fibrous structure of the molecular and gr
anular layer of the human cerebellum. Some glial cells were also stain
ed strongly with UB-13 in the human cerebellar or cerebral grey and wh
ite matter. In rat, glial cells, especially astroglias, and the endoth
elial structure of blood vessels were stained strongly with UB-13. The
se findings suggest that UB-13 may be a useful monoclonal antibody for
analysis of brain-lymphoid antigen in many species.