Production and characterization of monoclonal antibodies to dehydrogenase from thermophile Sulfolobus solfataricus

Monoclonal antibodies against glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) from Sulfolobus solfataricus were produced and characterized using epitope mapping and biosensor technology. Five monoclonal antibodies raised against S. solfataricus GDH were each identified as a single protein band that comigrated with purified S. solfataricus GDH on the SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblot. Epitope mapping analysis showed that only one subgroup among the antibodies tested recognized the same peptide fragments of GDH. Using the anti-S. solfataricus GDH antibodies as probes, the cross-reactivities of GDHs from various sources were investigated and it was found that the mammalian GDH is not immunologically related to S. solfataricus GDH. The structural differences between the microbial and mammalian GDHs were further investigated using biosensor technology (Pharmacia BIAcore) and monoclonal antibodies against S. solfataricus and bovine brain. The binding affinity of S. solfataricus glutamate dehydrogenase anti-S. solfataricus for GDH (K(D)=11 nM) was much fighter than that of anti-bovine for GDH (K(D)=450 nM). These results, together with the epitope mapping analysis, suggest that there may be structural differences between the two GDH species, in addition to their different biochemical properties.