Production and characterization of monoclonal antibodies against human ceruloplasmin

Ceruloplasmin (CP) is the major plasma antioxidant and copper transport protein. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against human CP were produced and characterized. A total of five hybridoma cell lines were established (CP2, CP10, CP20, CP25, CP30). From the epitope mapping analysis, two subgroups of mAbs recognize different peptide fragments were identified. When the purified CP was incubated with the mAbs, the ferroxidase activity of CP was inhibited up to a maximum 57 %. Immunoblotting with various tissue homogenates indicated that all the mAbs specifically recognize a single protein band of 130 kDa. They also appear to be extensively cross-reactive among different mammalian including human and avian sources. These results demonstrated that only one type of immunologically similar CP is present in all of the mammalian tissues including human. The CP mAbs could be of great benefit to design the diagnostic kit for CP-related diseases such as Wilson's disease.