Loss of immunoreactivity for RTI40, a type I cell-specific protein in the alveolar epithelium of rat lungs with bleomycin-induced fibrosis

After lung injury, the epithelial cells lining the alveolar surface in rat lung show an altered distribution of several membrane proteins. Pulmonary fibrosis was induced by intratracheal administration of bleomycin into the lung of rats and the distribution of RTI40, a recently detected alveolar epithelial type I cell antigen, was examined, as well as the relationship between RTI40 and a type I cell-specific antigen recognized by the monoclonal antibody MEP-1 and the type I cell-binding lectin Bauhinia purpurea in serial sections and double stainings. Loss of RTI40 protein was observed in fibrotic lungs, particularly in areas with obliteration of alveoli. Pre-embedding immunoelectron microscopy confirmed this observation by detection of RTI40 protein in the alveolar lumen. Western blot analysis revealed elevated levels of RTI40 in the bronchoalveolar fluid of bleomycin-treated rats with a maximum at day 7 after treatment. Twenty-eight days after bleomycin application, the bronchoalveolar fluid contained three times the amount of RTI40 x mg protein(-1) of control lungs, as determined by semiquantitative dot blot. These results suggest RTI40 as a tool for the evaluation of alveolar epithelial type I cell behaviour during re-epithelialization processes.