Receptor for advanced glycation end-products is a marker of type I lung alveolar cells

Lung alveolar epithelial cells are comprised of type I (ATI) and type II (ATII) cells. ATI cells are polarized, although they have very flat morphology. The identification of marker proteins for apical and basolateral membranes of ATI cells is important to investigate into the differentiation of ATI cells. In this paper, we characterized receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE) as a marker for ATI cells. RAGE was localized on basolateral membranes of ATI cells in the immunoelectron microscopy and its expression was enhanced in a parallel manner to the differentiation of ATI cells in vivo and in primary cultures of ATII cells. RAGE and T1alpha, a well-known ATI marker protein, were targeted to basolateral and apical membranes, respectively, when expressed in polarized Madine Darby canine kidney cells. Moreover, RAGE was expressed in ATI cells after T1alphain vivo and in ex in vivo organ cultures. In conclusion, RAGE is a marker for basolateral membranes of well-differentiated ATI cells. ATI cells require some signal provided by the in vivo environment to express RAGE.