Immunoblotting Reactivity of Vitellogenin Antibodies against Native Vitellogenins and a Vitellogenin Protein Fragment Produced in E. coli

Vitellogenin (Vtg) is found in the serum of both female and male fish that have been exposed to environmental endocrine disrupters or estrogen hormones, and is used as a biomarker for such contamination. In our current study antibodies raised against the purified flatfish Vtg were tested for their reactivity on immunoblots to flatfish and carp Vtg, and also to a Vtg protein fragment produced in E. coli. Polyclonal antibodies raised against purified flatfish Vtg reacted well with Vtg in the serum of flatfish and carp induced with 17β-estradiol, but not with the Vtg protein fragment produced in E. coli.