Cellular distribution of parchorin, a chloride intracellular channel-related protein, in various tissues.

The cellular distribution of parchorin, a new chloride intracellular channel family member, was investigated in rabbit tissues by immunohistochemistry using an antibody recognizing the sequence containing a parchorin-specific repeat. Parchorin preferentially resides in the epithelium of the ducts of the lacrymal, parotid, submandibular, and mammary glands and the pancreas, prostate, and testis. In the trachea and lung, parchorin was found in the airway epithelium and type II alveolar cells. In the kidney, parchorin was distributed mainly from the thick ascending limb to the distal convoluted tubule. In the eye, both pigment and nonpigment epithelia of the ciliary body were positive, whereas only the pigment epithelium was positive in the retina. Parchorin was also present in the cochlea and semicircular canal. The amount of parchorin in the gastric mucosa, but not in the submandibular glands, increased after weaning. In the mammary gland, parchorin expression was greater in a lactating rabbit (1 wk after delivery) compared with a pregnant (3 wk) rabbit. The cellular distribution and changes in expression indicate that parchorin plays an important role, possibly in chloride transport, in the cells that create an ion gradient for water movement.