Carbohydrate binding specificity of monoclonal antibodies raised against lactose-protein Maillard adducts

Three hybridoma antibodies (L101, L104, and L117) specific for lactose-protein amino carbonyl products (Maillard adducts) were obtained by immunizing mice with the lactose-ovalbumin Maillard adduct and by screening with the lactose-bovine serum albumin (BSA) adduct. They reacted with the Maillard adducts of lactose with several different proteins, but not with the adducts of several other reducing sugars. L101 reacted well with the lactose-BSA adducts formed by 2- to 16-day incubation, whereas L104 and L117 reacted with the advanced stage reaction products but not with the adducts of 2-day incubation. The competitive inhibition of the antibody binding by several mono- and disaccharides showed that lactulose (4-O-beta-D-galactopylanosyl-D-fructose) was the best inhibitor for all three antibodies, and that L104 and L117 were inhibited by methyl-beta-D-galactoside more effectively than L101. These results suggested that different components produced during the progress of the Maillard reaction could be antigenic determinants, and that the carbohydrate moiety including the terminal galactosyl residue played an important role in the antibody binding to the lactose-protein Maillard adducts.