Production of monoclonal antibodies against interleukin-1α and -1β: Development of two enzyme immunometric assays (EIA) using acetylcholinesterase and their application to biological media

We describe two series of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) directed against human interleukin-1α (36 mAbs) and -1β (11 mAbs). The binding compatibility of each of mAb was studied using biotin-labelled mAbs in immunometric tests. Among the different pairs of compatible mAbs, we selected one pair for each interleukin-1 (IL-1) with optimal properties for a two-site immunometric assay. In these assays, covalent conjugates of mAb coupled to the tetrameric form of acetylcholinesterase (mAb-AChE) were used as tracers. The tests were performed in 96-well microtiter plates coated with the complementary mAb. Both assays appeared sensitive and specific since minimum detectable concentrations as low as 1 pg/ml were determined for each IL-1 without any significant cross-reactivity (