Identification of an antigenic determinant of mouse lactate dehydrogenase C4.

A peptide bearing an antigenic determinant of the sperm-specific lactate dehydrogenase C4 isozyme (LDH-C4) has been isolated from a tryptic digest of the whole protein. This peptide, comprising residues 152-159 (MC152-159), reacts with rabbit anti-mouse LDH-C4. Immunization of rabbits with synthetic MC152-159 conjugated to bovine serum albumin induces an immune response which is specific for the peptide. Anti-MC152-159 IgG binds 125I-labeled mouse LDH-C4 and competition experiments demonstrate the specificity of this antigen antibody reaction.