The monoclonal antibody GRC1 produced against human cornea recognizes a common determinant of collagen.

The monoclonal antibody GRC1 was obtained by immunizing BALB/c mice with human cornea. Screening was performed by indirect immunofluorescence in cryostatic sections of several tissues: cornea, skin, placenta, hyaline cartilage, blood vessels, and nerves. GRC1 was seen to recognize fibrillar structures in all of these tissues. The pattern of reaction was interstitial and membranous. On cornea, GRC1 reacts definitely with Bowman's membrane and diffusely with the stroma, while on skin it shows strongly positive reactivity with the papillary dermis and with the basement membrane. It also reacts on hyaline cartilage at the periphery of the condrocytic lacunae. These immunohistologic results suggest that GRC1 recognized human collagen. In order to investigate further the subtype of collagen defined by GRC1, an ELISA was performed with purified collagens of several types: I, II, III, IV, and V. The monoclonal antibody GRC1 defines a common determinant in types III, IV, and V.