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We have used antibody to chicken gizzard alpha-actinin to identify and localize this molecule in chicken intestinal epithelium. The antibody binds only to alpha-actinin when tested against a crude extract of chicken gizzard. Extracts of purified epithelial cells contain a molecule which has a subunit molecular weight of 100,000 on sodium dodecyl sulphate gels and which is able to inhibit the interaction of alpha-actinin antibody and 125I-labeled chicken gizzard alpha-actinin. By indirect immunofluorescence, alpha-actinin is localized in the apical portion of chicken intestinal epithelial cells. Ethanol-fixed cryostat sections of intestine taken through the apical portion of the epithelial cells and in a plane perpendicular to the long axis of the cells show that alpha-actinin is organized in a polygonal pattern which corresponds to the outlines of the polygonally packed epithelial cells. We interpret the data as indicating that alpha-actinin is a component of the tight junction (zonula occludens) and/or the belt desmosome (zonula adherens), both of which are membrane structures known to encircle the cell and to be confined to its apical portion.
Craig et al. (1979) studied this question.