PRODUCTION OF ANTIIDIOTYPIC ANTISERA TO RAT GH ANTIBODIES CAPABLE OF BINDING TO GH RECEPTORS AND INCREASING BODY-WEIGHT GAIN IN HYPOPHYSECTOMIZED RATS

Anti-idiotypic antibodies to rat GH antibodies were produced in both sheep and mice and shown to be capable of mimicking GH by inhibiting 125I-labelled ovine GH (oGH) binding to sheep liver membranes. The sheep anti-idiotypes were characterized further and shown to (1) inhibit 125I-labelled oGH binding to oGH antibodies, (2) inhibit 125I-labelled oGH binding to rat adipocytes and (3) be incapable of inhibiting the binding of either 125I-labelled ovine prolactin or 125I-labelled bovine insulin to sheep liver membranes. This inciated that the antibodies were not limited to certain species or tissues, but were hormone specific. Finally, these anti-idiotypic antibodies were also capable of stimulating an increase in body weight gain in hypophysectomized rats, suggesting that they may be functional as well as structural mimics of GH, although the increased body weight gain was not accompanied by any increase in circulating concentrations of insulin-like growth factor-I.