An enzyme immunoassay for rat growth hormone: applications to the study of growth hormone variants

A sensitive and specific competitive enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for rat growth hormone was developed using reagents from the National Institutes of Arthritis, Diabetes, Digestive Diseases and Kidney, Bethesda, Md. In this assay soluble growth hormone and growth hormone adsorbed to a solid-phase support compete for monkey anti-growth hormone antibody binding sites. The immobilized antibody-growth hormone complex is detected and quantified using goat anti-monkey immunoglobin G covalently conjugated to horse radish peroxidase. Therefore a high concentration of soluble growth hormone in the sample will result in low absorbance detection from the colored products of the enzyme reaction. Assay parameters were optimized by investigating the concentration of reagents and the reaction kinetics in each of the assay steps. The assay can be performed in 27 hours. A sensitivity range of 0.19 ng to 25 ng in the region of 10 to 90% binding was obtained. Near 50% binding (3 ng) the intraassay coefficient of variation (CV) was 5.54% and the interassay CV was 5.33%. The correlation coefficient (r2) between radioimmunoassay and EIA was 0.956 and followed the curve Y = 0.78X + 1.9. Selected applications were described as follows. Alkaline extracts of pituitary tissue increase 2 fold in GH content after mercaptoethanol treatment. Alkaline extracts of pituitary tissue chromatographed on HPLC molecular sieving columns showed selective enhancement of rat growth hormone content based upon molecular weight. Fractions representing a molecular weight greater than 200 kD were enhanced 6 fold. Fractions whose molecular weight range was 22 kD to 50 kD were enhanced 2 fold. This assay provides a reliable alternative to RIA and offers the major advantage of eliminating radioactive reagents and counting equipment.