Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for human skin collagenase.

A specific and sensitive indirect inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was develop for human skin collagenase. Using an antiserum dilution of 1: 8000, the ELISA could detect 0.2 ng of enzyme, which was approximately 10 times more sensitive than the previously described radioimmunoassay for human skin collagenase. The assay was also highly reproducible. In comparative studies, bacterial, tadpole and crab collagenases did not react in the ELISA. Rat uterine collagenase and collagenases from bovine gingival explants and fibroblasts displayed approximately 0.1% of the reactivity found with human skin collagenase. Human synovial and gingival collagenases and collagenase from skin fibroblasts from patients with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa showed almost complete identity with the normal human skin fibroblast enzyme.