Detection of Tiger Podoplanin Using the Anti-Cat Podoplanin Monoclonal Antibody PMab-52.

Podoplanin (PDPN) is expressed in type I alveolar cells of lung but not in type II alveolar cells. PDPN is also known as a specific lymphatic endothelial cell marker because PDPN is not expressed in vascular endothelial cells. PDPNs of several animals have been characterized using specific anti-PDPN monoclonal antibodies (mAbs): PMab-1, PMab-2, PMab-32, PMab-38, PMab-44, and PMab-52 for mouse, rat, rabbit, dog, bovine, and cat PDPNs, respectively. In this study, we investigated the possible crossreaction between these anti-PDPN mAbs and tiger PDPN. Flow cytometry and western blot analyses revealed that the anti-cat PDPN mAb PMab-52 (IgM, kappa) reacted with tiger PDPN, which is overexpressed in Chinese hamster ovary-K1 cells. Using immunohistochemical analysis, type I alveolar cells of the tiger lung were strongly detected by PMab-52. These results indicate that PMab-52 may be useful for the detection of tiger PDPN.