A monoclonal-antibody-based immunoradiometric assay for apoprotein B in low-density lipoprotein.

Five different mouse monoclonal antibodies were raised against apoprotein B, the major protein in human low-density lipoproteins (LDL). Competitive binding studies suggested that these antibodies recognized four different epitopes on the lipoprotein particle. All antibodies bound to very-low-density and intermediate-density lipoproteins, which are the metabolic precursors of LDL and also contain apoprotein B. One antibody (P1C1) displayed a relative specificity for apoprotein B in LDL as compared with that in very-low-density lipoprotein and was used as a radiolabeled first antibody in an immunoradiometric assay for this lipoprotein. Measurements, either on isolated LDL or directly on plasma samples, demonstrated that this assay provides a rapid and precise method of quantification.