Heterologous radioimmunoassay of monkey luteinizing hormone: a critical assessment

Available reagents for the immunoassay (RIA) of luteinizing hormone (LH) in monkeys, including a cynomolgus (cynLH) tracer, an antiserum against human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), and a rhesus standard (rhLH), were assessed using an in vitro bioassay and the RIA in connection with fractionation by high-resolution isoelectrofocusing. The data presented indicate that the RIA system represents a significant improvement over the ovine-antiovine system. Since, however, the sensitivity of the RIA is some 50 times less than that of the in vitro bioassay, and since the rhLH standard is heavily contaminated with FSH, it is felt that until the advent of a homologous RIA, the in vitro bioassay is the method of choice.