ELISA for F-TCF (human hepatocyte growth factor/hHGF)/fibroblast-derived tumor cytotoxic factor antigen employing monoclonal antibodies and its application to patients with liver diseases.

For determination of fibroblast-derived tumor cytotoxic factor, F-TCF (human hepatocyte growth factor/hHGF), sensitive two-step sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) employing monoclonal antibodies was developed. Microplates were coated with monoclonal antibody (P1C8) and bound F-TCF was quantitated with the second monoclonal antibody (P2D6) linked to peroxidase. The standard curve for F-TCF was found to be linear in the range of 0.16 to 10 ng of F-TCF per ml. The assay was specific for F-TCF but not for plasminogen. The assay can be used for determination of F-TCF antigen in both human plasma and serum. The variation of absorbance was little in duplicate samples. Recoveries of exogenous F-TCF added to serum or plasma samples showed theoretical values. F-TCF antigen levels in 21 healthy volunteers was found to be 0.56 +/- 0.43 ng/ml. In contrast, mean F-TCF levels in patients with liver diseases were all higher than those of healthy subjects. This ELISA system has the advantage of using a sensitive and reproducible set of monoclonal antibodies, and is a useful method for monitoring F-TCF levels in patients with liver diseases.