RESUMO
A novel cellular enzyme-linked immunoassay has been developed to detect specific binding of human monoclonal antibodies to target tumour cells obtained by enzymatic disaggregation of surgically resected human colorectal carcinomas. Cell preparations derived from human tissues contain endogenous immunoglobulin. The method described is designed to detect specific binding of a human monoclonal antibody while minimising extraneous background signals caused by the presence of endogenous immunoglobulins in the preparation. This is achieved by first generating immune complexes, which are then incubated with the target cells. The assay is well suited for rapid screening of large numbers of tissue culture supernatants and could be adapted for cells of other tumours. Small quantities of target cells and supernatant are used and the assay can be completed within 5 h.