IMMULITE® Thyroid Autoantibody Assays
Use Highly Purified Human Proteins

Ercan Unver, Ph.D.
Senior Director, Chemistry and Biochemistry, R&D

The most common thyroid diseases are autoimmune in nature. Thyroid autoimmunity occurs most commonly in women over age 65, but it can also affect men and younger women. Patients may present with general complaints such as fatigue or loss of appetite; if left untreated, the condition worsens and additional symptoms appear. Physicians routinely test thyroid function using TSH and T4 assays in patients suspected of having thyroid dysfunction. Results may indicate the appropriateness of testing for thyroid autoantibodies. Hypothyroid disease, for example, frequently results from the presence of autoantibodies to thyroid peroxidase (TPO) and thyroglobulin (TG).

In designing autoantibody assays, the use of a high-quality antigen source is critical. The human TPO and TG antigens used in DPC's thyroid autoantibody assays offer the best detection performance for patient testing. Both are highly purified native antigens, with homogeneity verified by gel filtration chromatography and SDS-PAGE. DPC has confirmed that both preparations are free of human immunoglobulin contamination.

Importantly, the TPO antigen used in DPC's anti-TPO antibody assays is free of detectable TG antigen contamination, as confirmed using specific TG monoclonal antibodies. Likewise, the TG antigen used in DPC's anti-TG antibody assays contains no detectable TPO.

These stringent guidelines for antigen quality help ensure the consistent excellence of DPC's thyroid autoantibody assays. Anti-TPO Ab and Anti-TG Ab assays are available for both the IMMULITE® and IMMULITE® 2000 immunoassay analyzers. For further information, please contact your local DPC representative or National Distributor.

TPO

TPO antigen was electrophoresed in a 4-20% gradient gel under nonreducing conditions. The gel on the left has been stained for protein, demonstrating the presence of the two expected bands. The gel on the right has been immunostained, probing with monoclonal antibodies to TPO and TG. TG contamination is undetectable. SDS-PAGE analysis Western blotting TPO TPO MAb TG MAb

TG

TG antigen was electrophoresed in a 4-20% gradient gel under reducing conditions. The gel on the left has been stained for protein. The gel on the right has been immunostained, probing with monoclonal antibodies to TG and TPO. TPO contamination is undetectable. SDS-PAGE analysis Western blotting TG TG MAb TPO MAb