Monoclonal antibody against the active site of caeruloplasmin and the ELISA system detecting active caeruloplasmin.

Serum caeruloplasmin deficiency is a characteristic biochemical abnormality found in patients with Wilson's disease, but the mechanism of this disease is unknown. Although the phenylenediamine oxidase activity of serum caeruloplasmin is markedly low in patients with Wilson's disease, mRNA of caeruloplasmin exists to some extent. To investigate the deficiency of caeruloplasmin oxidase activity in Wilson's disease, we generated 14 monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) and selected ID1, which had the strongest reactivity, and ID2, which had neutralizing ability. We also established a system to measure active caeruloplasmin specifically using these MAbs. These MAbs and the system will be useful tools in analyzing the active site of caeruloplasmin in patients with Wilson's disease.