A highly specific and sensitive enzyme-immunometric assay for calcitonin gene-related peptide based on enzyme amplification

Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is an important member of the peptide family encoded by the calcitonin gene. It has been found to be a potent vasodilator in man and a major circulating gene product (Girgis et al., 1985). The present study reports the development of a sensitive and rapid two-site immunoassay for CGRP based on enzyme amplification (Self, 1985). The assay has been easy to construct, taking advantage of available antisera raised for other purposes. Nevertheless it has been found to be clearly superior to our previous radioimmunoassay in terms of sensitivity, specificity, speed and convenience.