Characterization of a bioeffective monoclonal antibody against thyrotropin beta-subunit

To describe a region of the TSH molecule participating in binding to receptor, a monoclonal antibody specific for a TSH epitope shared by beta-subunits of bovine (b), ovine (o), and human (h) TSH was obtained by immunization with mixtures of purified bTSH and hTSH. RIAs showed that the antibody also bound the beta-subunits of bLH, oLH, hLH, and hCG, but not the beta-subunits of porcine LH and TSH. Preincubation of [125I]iodo-bTSH with the antibody completely inhibited binding of the hormone to the TSH receptor of bovine thyroid membrane preparations at pH 7.4 in 50 mM NaCl (ED50 = 10 nM). The antibody also inhibited TSH-induced mitogenesis of FRTL-5 cells (ED50 = 50 nM). We conclude that the antibody binds to a site on the bTSH molecule that participates in high affinity binding of hormone to physiological TSH receptor. The target epitope includes a conserved structural determinant in beta-subunits of the glycoprotein hormones as well as a feature that allows discrimination of porcine hormones from those of bovine, ovine, and human origin.