A mouse growth hormone-binding protein RIA: concentrations in maternal serum during pregnancy.

A RIA for mouse growth hormone-binding protein (mGHBP) was developed. A 28-amino acid synthetic peptide corresponding to the carboxyl-terminal 27 amino acids of mGHBP plus an additional cysteine residue at the amino-terminus was coupled to keyhole limpet hemocyanin and used as the antigen for antiserum production. The ability of the antiserum to recognize mGHBP was demonstrated by incubating mouse serum with 125I-iodomouse GH (mGH) in the presence of increasing concentrations of antiserum and subsequent immunoprecipitation. The antiserum precipitated mGHBP in a dose-dependent manner. The uncoupled synthetic peptide was used as the standard and radioligand in the RIA. Serial dilutions of sera from non-pregnant or 17-days-pregnant mice yielded displacement curves parallel to the synthetic peptide, with serum from 17-days-pregnant mice being 32 times more effective than serum from non-pregnant mice for a given dilution. The relative concentration of mGHBP in maternal serum on days 5, 11, and 15 of pregnancy was 1, 17, and 39, respectively.