Using Brown Norway (BN) rats, we isolated and characterized the tubular basement membrane (TBM) antigens that are immunologically common to humans. The renal basement membrane (RBM) of BN rat, as an antigen source, was solubilized with 8 M urea instead of collagenase followed by extraction with 0.5 M NaCl. On frozen section-immunohistochemistry, the autoantibody obtained from BN rats, which had been immunized with human RBM and showed tubulointerstitial nephritis, bound to the TBM, the basement membrane of the Bowman's capsule, and the brush border of the proximal tubules, but not to the GBM of the normal BN rat kidney. Nephritogenic antigens were isolated by immunoaffinity chromatography using Sepharose-bound purified autoantibody. By Western blot analysis of the eluate, bands with molecular weight of 200 kDa and 180 kDa were positively reacted to anti-FX1A (brush border antigen) antibody and were apparently different from the major bands with molecular weight of 145 kDa and 130 kDa. The bands with molecular weight of 145 and 130 kDa showed major cross reactivity with antibodies to fibronectin and laminin. In contrast with these high molecular weight (HMW) bands, the major 60 kDa band with three minor bands showed no reactivity with any type of antibody tested. These results indicated that the non-enzymatic solubilization of RBM is one of the possible procedures for isolating the HMW form of antigens. These antigens may be epitopically modified pre-existing constitutions of the basement membrane and may play a role in the induction of tubulointerstitial nephritis.

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