title: Use of anti-peptide antibodies for the design of antigen-specific immune complex assays.
abstract: A simple and sensitive method is described for the detection of circulating immune complexes (ICs) in an antigen-specific manner. The method is based on the use of anti-peptide antibodies as solid-phase capture reagents to bind antigen which is complexed to serum antibodies. The bound serum antibody is detected with a labelled second antibody. The method requires that the anti-peptide antibodies bind native protein efficiently, and that the anti-peptide antibodies do not compete with antibodies raised against the native protein which are involved in IC formation. Two anti-peptide antibodies specific for the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and the hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg), which possessed the requisite characteristics, were chosen as models for IC assay development. The solid-phase, anti-peptide based assays efficiently detected HBsAg and HBeAg-containing ICs in preformed antigen/antibody mixtures and in the serum of chronically infected hepatitis B patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Maruyama
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Thornton
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Iino
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kurokawa
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Milich
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000936:Antigen-Antibody Complex / Q000032:analysis*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D000939:Epitopes / Q000276:immunology; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000276:immunology; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D006513:Hepatitis B e Antigens / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D006521:Hepatitis, Chronic / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000276:immunology; D011817:Rabbits; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D000936:Antigen-Antibody Complex; D000939:Epitopes; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D006513:Hepatitis B e Antigens; D010455:Peptides; D011994:Recombinant Proteins