THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PANEL OF MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODIES TO HUMAN LUTEINIZING-HORMONE AND ITS APPLICATION TO IMMUNOLOGICAL MAPPING AND 2-SITE ASSAYS

Measurement of human luteinizing hormone in urine may be used to monitor the ovulatory cycle and is especially useful for large scale epidemiological studies because of the ease of sample collection. Since urinary LH, unlike serum LH, exists in a variety of forms including intact hormone, subunits and fragments, urinary measurement is complex. It is difficult to make immunologic measurements useful for clinical assessments especially since it is not known which of the LH forms are most useful to measure in urine. In order to develop means of measurement of hLH and its fragments and subunits in urine, we have established an extensive library of monoclonal antibodies to hLH to enhance the variety of forms of hLH which can be measured in biological fluids. Although the antibodies were produced by immunization with intact hLH, they were selected to exhibit sufficient diversity, multiple binding capabilities and high affinities to permit such wide-ranging measurements. We have also developed an epitope map for hLH using this antibody library to facilitate construction of two-site antibody measurement systems. This map indicates the presence of at least seven different epitopes on the surface of hLH. Three sites are in common with hCG.