Effect of pH on antigen binding by clonotypic antibodies with different isoelectric points

Polyclonal rabbit antibodies to thyroxine, human myoglobin, human growth hormone, human thyrotropin, human alpha-fetoprotein, and human thyroglobulin were fractionated into clonotypic antibodies with different isoelectric points by agarose isoelectric focusing or chromatofocusing. The effect of pH on the binding of these antigens by their respective clonotypic antibodies was assessed by radioimmunoassay. The profiles of the pH effect differed both for different antigens and for different pI's of the antibodies used. The pH optima in the radioimmunoassays for protein antigens were found to be expressed as a function of pI and molecular weight of both antigen and antibody molecules.