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Retinoic Acid-binding Protein in Normal Tissues and Experimental Tumors¹

Kettering-Meyer Laboratory, Southern Research Institute, Birmingham, Alabama 35205

The tissue distribution of retinoic acid-binding protein (RABP) has been determined for tissues of chick embryos and young and adult rats and mice and has been compared with other published data. Although no species variability has been detected with tissue distribution of RABP, relatively more of the protein is detected in the tissues of young animals than in those of adult ones. This protein is below the limits of detection in the adult rat or mouse brains, whereas it was present in abundance in the embryonic and young brains. RABP is present in the epithelial cells but not in the connective tissue of skin. Besides brain, skin, testis, and eye, RABP is also detected in small quantities in the bladder, prostate, uterus, trachea, and mammary glands of rats and mice.

Although RABP could not be detected in normal lungs, this protein is found to be present in Lewis lung tumors and in lungs with metastatic Lewis lung foci. Of four chemically induced transplantable colon tumors of mice, two highly metastatic ones contained RABP, whereas the two nonmetastatic lines as well as normal colon did not.

¹ This work was supported by Contract N01-CP-22064 with the Lung Cancer Segment, Division of Cancer Cause and Prevention, National Cancer Institute, and Grants CA-18263 from the National Cancer Institute and CA-17303 from the National Large Bowel Cancer Project, Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

² To whom requests for reprints should be addressed, at Southern Research Institute, 2000 Ninth Avenue South, Birmingham, Ala. 35205.

Received 4/ 9/76. Accepted 10/ 8/76.