Monoclonal antibodies to human interferon-gamma. I. Antibodies to a synthetic carboxyl-terminal peptide.

Two types of hybridomas secreting monoclonal antibodies (MAB) against human interferon-gamma (HuIFN-gamma) were obtained by somatic cell hybridization between mouse myeloma P3U1 cells and spleen cells from BALB/c mice immunized with a conjugate of a synthetic carboxyl-terminal peptide (residues 131-146) of HuIFN-gamma and bovine thyroglobulin. One of the antibodies bound to recombinant HuIFN-gamma produced in E. coli as well as to natural HuIFN-gamma, while the others bound only to recombinant HuIFN-gamma. These 2 types of MAB did not neutralize the anti-viral activity of HuIFN-gamma. They were useful for effectively purifying recombinant HuIFN-gamma and quantitatively determining it by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.