Antibodies for specific detection of pathogenic prions of human origin and detection methods using them

摘要

Antibody (Ab), for specific detection of pathological prions of human origin, binds to an epitope that is characteristic of human prion proteins but is absent from such proteins of other species. ??Independent claims are also included for the following: ??(1) Method for detecting pathological prion proteins of human origin using a (monoclonal) Ab; ??(2) Conformation-dependent immunoassay for detecting pathological prion proteins in samples of body fluids or tissue homogenates of human or animal origin; ??(3) Epitope of human prion protein that reacts with Ab under non-reducing conditions but not (or only weakly) under reducing conditions; ??(4) Antibodies (Ab1) and high-affinity ligands (X), for specific determination and characterization of proteins, that bind to a characteristic epitope present in the oxidized, but not reduced, state; ??(5) Immunoassay for determining the oxidation status of a protein by using Ab1 or (X); and ??(6) Method for determining epitopes that are produced by formation of disulfide bonds.