Production and characterization of an antibody against the human bone GLA protein (BGP/osteocalcin) propeptide and its use in immunocytochemistry of bone cells.

We have generated and characterized an antibody that recognizes the C-terminal sequence of the propeptide of human bone GLA protein (BGP/osteocalcin)(amino acid -26 to -1, with +1 being the amino terminus of the mature protein). The range of sensitivity of the antibody, as determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), was 0.5-250 ng/ml. The antibody effectively recognized pro-BGP in cell layer extracts of transformed cells (KT-005), but did not recognize mature, propeptide-less BGP in the medium from the same cultures. Strong labelling was obtained using this antibody in immunoperoxidase staining or immunofluorescence of both transformed and normal human bone cells in vitro. Monensin significantly altered the intracellular pattern of labelling in immunofluorescence studies, indicating that the recognized antigen was associated with the cellular secretory pathway. We also obtained a specific and strong staining of cells in tissue sections of human fetal bone. Antibodies against the mature protein strongly stained the mineralization front, but did not stain cells to any appreciable level. Newly embedded osteocytes were the predominant cell type stained in such material, suggesting that they may represent the major of BGP in the intact tissue. These observations indicate that BGP synthesis is a late event in osteoblastic development and that antibodies generated against the propeptide sequence are a potentially powerful tool in the analysis of bone tumors and evaluation of osteoblastic differentiation.