Monoclonal antibody identification of a potentially lithogenic protein extracted from human renal calculi.
In an attempt to identify potentially lithogenic proteins, a detergent soluble extract of human renal calculi was used to produce a unique monoclonal antibody.  The monoclonal antibody was found to detect the presence of a specific epitope in 77% of individually extracted kidney stones from our patients' stone bank at The Long Island Kidney Stone Unit, State University of New York, Stony Brook.  Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, immunoprecipitation, and Western Blot analysis revealed this monoclonal antibody to be specific to a protein of 83,000 dalton molecular weight.  A secondary source of protein reactive to the monoclonal antibody was subjected to enzyme kinetic studies, those studies suggested that the 83,000 dalton protein is a member of the protein-glutamine gammaglutamyltransferase (transglutaminase) family of enzymes.  It was not determined in the present investigation whether a member of this family of enzymes initiates or is necessary for lithiasis.
The Long Island Kidney Stone Unit, Department of Urology, State University of New York at Stony Brook 11794-8093.
L B
LB
Kandel
T C
TC
Whyard
M J
MJ
Gonder
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007669:Kidney Calculi / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000209:etiology; D011496:Protein Methyltransferases