A monoclonal antibody raised against a synthetic peptide representative of part of the amino acid sequence of rat immunoglobulin E detects thermally induced changes in that region of the IgE molecule.

A mouse monoclonal antibody (mAb) has been produced by conventional cell fusion methods against a synthetic peptide, p123, representative of a portion of the CH4 domain of rat immunoglobulin E (IgE). This monoclonal antibody was reactive with both peptide and purified rat IgE (p.rat IgE) by indirect enzyme immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and its binding to p.rat IgE was found to be inhibitable by pre-incubation with rat ascitic fluid containing the immunocytoma 162 (IR162) IgE. Heating of the immunocytoma IgE in solution at 56 degrees for 1 hr resulted in its enhanced binding of the mAb. The effect of this treatment was investigated further using p.rat IgE heated at 56 degrees for various time intervals between 0 and 60 min. The mAb showed enhanced binding to IgE heated for as little as 10 min, a similar level of binding being shown by samples heated for 30 and 60 min. The degree of aggregation of the IgE molecules brought about by the heat treatments was measured by differential UV absorption. This revealed a decrease in the proportion of monomeric IgE with an accompanying increase in the percentage of dimer and larger aggregates with increased time of heating at 56 degrees. These absorption data, together with the ELISA inhibition data, suggest that, rather than inducing changes mediated by aggregation of the IgE molecules in solution, heating at 56 degrees causes subtle alterations in the conformation of individual IgE molecules at specific sites within their CH4 domains, one of which is detected by this mAb.