PRODUCTION AND IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SPECIFIC ANTIBODY TO OVIDUCTAL FLUID OF MINIATURE SHIBA GOAT

Monoclonal antibodies were produced against the oviductal secretory su bstances in 'Shiba' goats and their nature was characterized. In the a mpullary region, very strong immunoreactivity with one clone (EE-1) wa s localized within the cytoplasm of non-ciliated cells (''secretory ce lls''), whereas very little or no immunoreactivity was observed in the isthmus region. This reactivity pattern was observed in both estrous and luteal phases. Immunohistochemical analysis showed the antigen to be either absent or minimally present in other organs including the al imentary canal, liver, pancreas, lung, kidney, uterus, thyroid gland, heart, spleen and spinal cord, and in oviducts of other species such a s hamster, sheep and cow. The immunoglobulin isotype of EE-1 was deter mined as IgM with a kappa light chain. The positive reactions were eli minated by treating deparaffinized sections with periodic acid or test icular hyaluronidase. Results obtained in this study suggest that ampu llary secretory cells in 'Shiba' goat oviduct contain a species- and t issue-specific antigen containing hyaluronic acid or hyaluronidase-sen sitive carbohydrates.