Multidrug resistance P-glycoprotein monoclonal antibody JSB-1 crossreacts with pyruvate carboxylase

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is associated with overexpression of a 170 KD plasma membrane P-glycoprotein (P-gp), a putative energy-dependent efflux transporter that reduces intracellular accumulation of chemotherapeutic agents. For detection of P-gp expression in normal and malignant tissues, an MDR1-specific monoclonal antibody (MAb) JSB-1 has been used extensively. In this report we show that MAb JSB-1 crossreacts with a protein of M(r) ~ 130,000 present in rat liver mitochondrial inner membrane/matrix fractions. Peptide mapping and microsequencing identify this protein as pyruvate carboxylase (PC), an abundant mitochondrial enzyme. MAb JSB-1 also crossreacts with purified PC from bovine liver. Under immunoblotting conditions, this crossreactivity is partially abolished by pre-incubation of MAb JSB-1 with a 1000-fold molar excess of MAb C494 epitope-specific peptide (PNTLEGN), indicating that the epitope of MAb JSB-1 may either overlap with or be in close proximity to that of MAb C494. Immunohistochemical crossreactivity was also demonstrated in cryosections of human skeletal muscle, a tissue known not to express P-gp. MAb JSB-1 strongly immunostained Type 1 fibers, the subtype known to contain abundant mitochondria. Use of MAb JSB-1 for detection of MDR1 P-gp expression should be approached with caution.