[Production of monoclonal antibodies to ferritin and development of the enzymeimmunoassay system].

UNLABELLED

A sandwich enzymeimmunoassay (EIA) system for serum ferritin was developed by newly obtained monoclonal antibodies to human placental ferritin (HPF). And serum ferritin values in 3 groups (normal control, normal pregnant women and gynecological cancer patients groups) were measured. These values were compared with those measured by the conventional sandwich EIA system, in which human liver ferritin (HLF) and conventional polyclonal antibody to HLF were used as standard substance and horseradish peroxidase (HRPO) conjugated antibodies, respectively.

RESULTS

The high coefficient of correlation of ferritin values between the new monoclonal assay and conventional assay indicated that this monoclonal assay system was useful in measuring serum ferritin. The distribution of the ferritin value in the normal control was 84.5 +/- 26.6ng/ml. The peak ferritin value in 136 normal pregnant women was found around the early second trimester. The serum ferritin value in 184 women with cancer usually exceeded the upper limit or normal range and some of them were more than 1000ng/ml. These results indicate that ferritin was a useful marker for cancer. When the correlation curve of the cancer group was compared with that of the normal control, it appeared that the assay system using HPF as the standard substance might be useful in correcting the false negative which the conventional assay system using HLF for the standard failed to pick up in the measurement of acidic ferritin (HPF or cancer ferritin).