Studies on the antibody response of Lama glama - evaluation of the bindingcapacity of different IgG subtypes in ELISAs for clenbuterol and BSA

Camelidae are known to produce three subtypes of immunoglobulin G (IgG), tw o of which are devoid of light chains. Two llamas (Lama glama) were immunis ed against clenbuterol-bovine serum albumin (BSA). Enzyme-linked immunosorb ent assays (ELISAs) for clenbuterol and BSA on the basis of protein A-coate d microtitration plates were established to investigate the titre developme nt. Three subclasses of IgG (IgG(1): 29 + 66 KDD, IgG(2): 52 KDD, IgG(3): 5 6 KDD) depending on their different binding properties to protein A and pro tein G could be separated chromatographically. Only IgG(1), which consists of conventional four-chain antibodies, bound to clenbuterol, whereas all fo rms of heavy-chain antibodies merely bound BSA. (C) 2001 Published by Elsev ier Science B.V.