DEVELOPMENT OF A SENSITIVE ELISA FOR HUMAN LEPTIN, USING MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODIES

A new, sensitive ELISA for human leptin in plasma and cerebrospinal fl uid (CSF) was developed, using monoclonal antibodies. The lower limit of detection of this ELISA was 0.78 pg/assay. Both intra- and interass ay imprecision values were <7%. The dilution curves of plasma and CSF showed good linearity, and the recovery was 83.2-95.6%. There was good correlation between plasma leptin concentrations by the ELISA and a c ommercially available RIA (r = 0.99). Our ELISA is advantageous becaus e it does not require radioisotopes, it produces results in hours rath er than days, and more importantly, it improves on the detection limit and plasma interference of the RIA kit. The new ELISA enables measure ment of low concentrations of leptin, as are seen in CSF and in plasma of patients with anorexia nervosa.