Antibody orientational labeling via staphylococcus A protein to improve the sensitivity of gold immunochromatography assays.

The Cry1Ab toxin is usually expressed in genetically modified crops in order to control chewing pests. Although the gold immunochromatography assay (GICA) based on the double-antibody sandwich method has been developed to detect this toxin, its detection sensitivity needs improvement. In this study, Cry1Ab-51 antibodies were immobilized orientationally in a simple and effective way on colloidal gold nanoparticles (CGNPs) using the affinity of staphylococcal protein A (SPA) towards the fragment crystallizable (FC) fragment of mouse immunoglobulin G (IgG). Lateral flow detection test strips, assembled with probes labeled with orientational methods under optimal operational conditions (new probe), were 10 times more sensitive than test strips assembled with probes labeled by adsorption (conventional probe). Experiments showed that the affinity of the new probe was much higher than the conventional probe. The immunochromatography gold strip (ICG strip) assembled using the new probe was highly specific to Cry1Ab with no cross-reaction with other transgenic proteins, and it was proved that the specificity of the new probe had no change. Furthermore, the ICG strips assembled with the new probe could be stored for 12 months under dry conditions without a significant loss of sensitivity. The orientational labeling of the antibodies with SPA on colloidal gold proved to be suitable for improving the sensitivity of the ICG strips.

Monoclonal antibodies against human BAP31 for immunocytochemistry.

Human BAP31 is a 28 kDa polytopic integral protein of the ER and part of a large BAP hetero-oligomeric complex that includes the related BAP29 protein and connections to actomyosin. BAP31 interacts with mIgD, cellubrevin, major histocompatibility complex class I, and BCL-2/BCL-X(L), and plays an important role in regulating the egress of these proteins and in apoptosis. Northern blot analyses have revealed BAP31 RNA transcripts in many tissues, including thymus, spleen, brain, kidney, testis, liver, and lung. However, prominent BAP31 protein expression analyzed by immunohistochemistry is restricted to a minority of cells in normal human tissue. Further studies should be made to verify the expression profiles of BAP31 in the protein level. Production of high affinity MAbs suitable for immunohistochemical staining has lagged. Here we generate a set of MAbs that could be used in Western blot, immunoprecipitation, and immunocytochemistry, providing a new powerful tool for investigation of expression profile of BAP31 protein and furthers the study of BAP31 functions.