Production of novel monoclonal antibodies against rabbit platelet factor four.

Ten hybridomas producing monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) against rabbit platelet factor 4 (PF4) were obtained from the fusion of splenocytes from mice immunized with purified rabbit PF4 and NSO mouse myeloma cells. When the reactivities of these monoclonal antibodies were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunoblotting with human and rabbit PF4, they showed a high degree of specificity. Only one Mab recognized an epitope common to the human and rabbit molecules, the other nine reacted only with the rabbit protein. All the antibodies recognized, in crude platelet lysates, a band that comigrates with the purified PF4 protein. None of these antibodies cross-reacted with major rabbit or human platelet-poor plasma proteins. The significance of the Mabs in immunological and physiological studies is discussed.