Development and Characterization of Murine Monoclonal Antibodies to the Latency-Associated Peptide of Transforming Growth Factor β 1

Transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) is a multifunctional peptide that controls proliferation, differentiation, and other functions in a variety of cell types. Transforming growth factor β activities have been implicated in a variety of diseased states including arthritis, prostate cancer, and AIDS, and in the repair of tissue injury caused by trauma, burns, and surgery. We describe the development and characterization of novel murine monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to the latency-associated peptide (LAP) of TGF-β₁, and the subsequent development of an ELISA for the detection and quantitation of TGF-β₁,-LAP in buffer and serum matrices. Fusion of immune splenocytes with myeloma cells yielded 576 hybridomas, 110 of which were antibody secreting. Five were selected for extensive characterization. Clinically, the MAbs described here should be valuable for studying potentially abnormal production and/or function of the LAP, and its relationship to TGF-β.