Monoclonal antibodies specific for sickle cell hemoglobin.

Two mouse hybridoma cell lines were isolated which produce monoclonal antibodies that bind hemoglobin S. The mice were immunized with peptide-protein conjugates to stimulate a response to the amino terminal peptide of the beta chain of hemoglobin S, where the single amino acid difference between A and S occurs. Immunocharacterization of the antibodies shows that they bind specifically to the immunogen peptide and to hemoglobin S. The specificity for S is high enough that one AS cell in a mixture with a million AA cells is labeled by antibody, and such cells can be analyzed by flow cytometry. Immunoblotting of electrophoretic gels allows definitive identification of hemoglobin S as compared with other hemoglobins with similar electrophoretic mobility.