Monoclonal antibodies used to isolate IgM from chicken bile and avian sera and to detect specific IgM in chicken sera

Summary Four hybridoma cell lines (designated M1, M10, M11, M31) were established which secrete antibody specific for chicken IgM. The specificity for the IgM heavy chain was shown by using ELISAs to screen for antibodies to IgM, IgA and IgG. Radioimmunoprecipitation tests confirmed that the four monoclonal antibodies reacted with IgM and also showed that they combined with Protein A. An immunoadsorbent was made using one (M1) of the monoclonal antibodies. IgM was purified in a single step by affinity chromatography from chicken bile and chicken, turkey and duck serum. This is the first unequivocal demonstration of chicken IgM in bile. The Ml monoclonal antibody was used in an ELISA to detect the specific chicken IgM response to the inoculation of bovine serum albumin. This anti‐IgM reagent may also be used to detect the IgM response to other antigens.