Identical serum proteins and specific bronchoalveolar lavage proteins in the adult human and the rat.

Whole unfractionated adult human and rat bronchoalveolar lavages were used for gradient electrophoresis, analytic isoelectric focusing, and immunoelectrophoretic studies, establishing a classification of identical serum proteins and specific lavage proteins. However, only with immunologic methods, using antiserum against bronchoalveolar lavage and serum from each species, were antigens identified that were also common to serum proteins, and to those that were specific for bronchoalveolar lavage. As a result, human bronchoalveolar lavage was classified into 21 identical serum antigens and 8 specific antigens, and for the rat the classification revealed 16 identical serum antigens, and 8 specific lavage antigens. A comparison of several well-established procedures for the preparation of bronchoalveolar lavage antigens showed that the ultrafiltration method produces the greatest number of specific antigens.