Rapid blood clearance of biotinylated IgG after infusion of avidin.

The techniques of immunotherapy and radioimmunoimaging suffer from the problem of background: intravenously injected antibodies remain in the circulation much longer than it is necessary for effective binding to the target. Various approaches, including the postinjection of second antibodies, were explored to overcome the problem with some success. The phenomenon of a 100-fold more rapid blood clearance of biotinylated immunoglobulins after postinjection of an equivalent dose of avidin is described. The concentration of 125I-labeled biotinylated IgG in the circulation of rats slowly decreased to 20% of initial in 24 hr. Avidin injection at any interval during this period induced 90-95% reduction of radioactivity in blood in 15 min. Up to 70% of the radioactivity was recovered in the liver. Avidin-induced blood clearance of biotinylated immunoglobulins may find applications in immunotherapy and radio- or nuclear magnetic resonance immunoimaging.