GENERATION OF MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODIES AGAINST HILDA LIF AND THEIR USE IN THE QUANTITATIVE ASSAY OF THE CYTOKINE

An adoptive transfer immunization/fusion protocol in mice has been successfully used to raise a series of monoclonal antibodies directed against the Human Interleukin for DA-1a (HILDA)/Leukemia Inhibitory Factor (LIF) cytokine. These antibodies which were raised using recombinant HILDA/LIF purified from conditioned medium of transfected Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells also react with natural HILDA/LIF from the HSB2 lymphoma cell line and unglycosylated HILDA/LIF produced in E. coli. They define four separate epitopes, one of which is involved in receptor binding and induction of biological activity. A sensitive sandwich immunoradiometric assay which is linear up to 5 ng/ml HILDA/LIF and can detect as low as 25 pg/ml of the cytokine has been developed. © 1993.