Monoclonal antibodies recognize conformational alterations leading to decreased bioactivity of human growth hormone

By means of monoclonal antibodies to five different antigenic determinants on human growth hormone (hGH) and polyclonal antisera from mice and rabbits, the immunoactivity of native hGH was compared with that of reduced and S-carboxymethylated hGH, which has an unstable conformation. Native and reduced and S-carboxymethylated hGH were also tested in a radioreceptor assay which reflects the bioactivity of the hormone. The IM-9 cell line was used as a receptor source in this assay. All five monoclonal antibodies were superior in discriminating between the native active form of hGH and its reduced and S-carboxymethylated form, which has a markedly reduced receptor binding activity.