A simplified cellular ELISA (CELISA) for the detection of antibodies reacting with cell-surface antigens

This paper describes the adaptation of a cellular enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (CELISA) for the detection of antibodies to cell-surface antigens. This CELISA has the advantages of convenience and rapidity and is therefore ideally suited for the screening of a large number of hybridoma culture supernatants. The basic procedure involves the direct drying of cell suspensions onto the wells of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) plates and a subsequent EIA with appropriate blocking reagents. In order to overcome high background binding of primary antibodies to Fc receptors and of secondary antibodies to surface Ig (sIg), this method involves a blocking step consisting of unlabelled secondary antibodies. Once CELISA plates are prepared, they can be stored for a period of at least 6 months and hence this assay does not rely on the availability of fresh, viable cells for each assay. This assay is simple, reproducible and sensitive. The results can be assessed in an objective manner and can also be adapted for the detection of cellular antigens. This paper describes a CELISA for the detection of antibodies to blood group antigens and human leukocyte (HLA) antigens.