Novel Monoclonal Antibodies Against Native Human Collectin L1, Using the Heteromeric Complex CL-LK as Immunogen

Collectin LK (CL-LK) is a recently described collectin complex, which upon binding to microbial glycoconjugates, activates the lectin pathway of the complement system, and thereby contributes to the removal of invading microorganisms. The complex consists of the two collectins; Collectin K1 (kidney 1 alias CL-11) and Collectin L1 (liver 1 alias CL-10). At present, most efforts have been made on the characterization of CL-K1, and little is known about the function of CL-L1 and its association with diseases. Deficiency of either of the two collectins is associated with the developmental syndrome 3MC, whereas increased plasma levels of CL-K1 are associated with disseminated intravascular coagulation. Using CL-LK purified from human plasma as an immunogen, we succeed in generating seven monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) with specificity for CL-L1. All seven mAbs recognize both native and recombinant CL-L1. In addition, four of the mAbs were successful in immunohistochemical detection of CL-L1 in human tissues. To our knowledge, these are the first mAbs specific for human native CL-L1 described in the literature, and we expect them to be of great importance in characterizing the function of CL-L1, as well as for the study of CL-L1's association with disease.