Monoclonal Antibodies against Human Blastocysts

Abstract

A panel of monoclonal antibodies against the implanting mouse blastocyst was tested for cross-reactivity to human blastocysts. The monoclonal antibodies were produced by intrasplenic immunization with living mouse blastocysts or egg-cylinders. Among the 13 anti-mouse blastocyst antibodies checked, 6 ones detected antigen epitopes also in human blastocysts. If the mouse-human cross-reacting antibodies detect similar antigens in blastocysts of the two species, the results imply that antimouse blastocyst antibodies with specific properties could be used for studying human blastocysts. This procedure opens for a way to obtain monoclonal antibodies for analysing human blastocysts.