Monoclonal antibodies to a brain dopamine binding protein: production, specificity, and immunohistochemistry.

A dopamine binding protein (DABP) has been purified from the rat brain synaptic membrane to homogeneity by affinity chromatography and gel electrophoresis. The monoclonal antibodies against the DABP were produced by the mouse-mouse hybridoma technique and characterized for their specificity to dopamine receptors by displacement of dopamine receptor binding. These monoclonal antibodies have been used to localize DABP in rat brain by immunohistochemistry. A specific linear structure of reaction product was seen in both caudate nucleus and cerebral cortex. This finding suggests that the DABP is present in the cerebral cortex and caudate nucleus as a membranous component of the neurons or their processes.