The structural conservation of S100 protein during evolution: analysis by reactivity with a monoclonal antibody.

A hybridoma cell line producing a monoclonal antibody (A4) against bovine S100 protein has been produced by fusing mouse myeloma P3X63/Ag8 cells with spleen cells from a BALB/c mouse immunized with bovine S100 protein. A4 is of the IgG2b subclass and was purified by affinity chromatography on a protein A-Sepharose column. Brain extracts from several mammalian and one avian species reacted both with polyclonal rabbit anti-S100 protein antiserum and with A4 in a radioimmunoassay. Brain extract from dog was a notable exception. It reacted with the rabbit antiserum but not with A4. Therefore A4 reacts with a common epitope that is present on S100 proteins from different vertebrate species but is absent on dog S100 protein.