The use of aIF, AE1, and AE3 monoclonal antibodies for the identification and classification of mammalian epithelial keratins

Recent data have indicated that specific keratin molecules can provide useful markers for studying different types and stages of epithelial differentiation. To utilize these protein markers, however, it is important to establish the keratin nature of the molecules and identify unambiguously the individual keratin species. In this paper, we show that this can be done relatively easily by one- and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis combined with immunoblotting using three monoclonal antibodies (aIF, AE1, and AE3). The aIF antibody has previously been shown to crossreact with all classes of intermediate-filament proteins. Using one- and two-dimensional immunoblotting, we establish that this antibody recognizes all known epithelial keratins of human and rabbit, although the reaction is relatively strong for the larger, basic keratins and is relatively weak for some of the smaller, acidic keratins. In contrast, AE1 and AE3 monoclonal antibodies have previously been shown to be highly specific for the acidic and basic subfamilies of the keratins, respectively. The combined use of the broadly reacting aIF antibody and the subfamily-specific AE1 and AE3 monoclonal antikeratin antibodies should facilitate the immunological definition, identification, and classification of mammalian epithelial keratins.