Time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay (TR-FIA) of gonadotropins

Time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay (TR-FIA), which has recently been developed as a non-isotopic immunoassay, was intended for assay of gonadotropins (LH and FSH). Ovine LH or FSH was labeled with N1-(p-isothiocyanatobenzyl)-diethylenetriamine-N1, N2, N3, N3-tetraacetic acid Eu-chelate (DTTA), and competitive binding assay was performed using a 96-weel titer plate previously coated with a second antibody, followed by measurement using time-resolved fluorometry. TR-FIA for standard ovine LH (NIDDK, LH-I-3) or FSH (NIDDK, FSH-I-1) had a sensitivity of about 25 pg/50 microliters sample. The assay system was applied to heterologous assay of porcine gonadotropins. Linearity was obtained by the dilution test using medium from primary culture of porcine anterior pituitary cells. Intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation of LH and FSH determination in 31 different porcine samples were satisfactorily low, between 3.5 and 8.1% (intra-assay) and between 1.7 and 13.1% (inter-assay). Correlation coefficients between radioimmunoassay and TR-FIA were calculated to be 0.945 for LH and 0.978 for FSH. Stimulation of LH and FSH release with GnRH was observed by TR-FIA. This non-isotopic TR-FIA thus provides as good sensitivity, reproducibility and accuracy as conventional RIAs.