Monoclonal antibodies raised against bovine anti-müllerian hormone: bovine, ovine, and caprine hormones share a set of identical epitopes.

Abstract

Monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) have been raised against purified bovine anti-Müllerian hormone (bAMH) in an effort to obtain nonzoospecific reagents. Although the majority of the resulting hybridomas resembled those obtained previously insofar as they recognized only bovine, ovine and caprine AMH, four others, all immunoglobulin Ms, were directed against an epitope shared with AMH of other species, namely rabbit, pig and cat. Both the zoospecific and the conserved epitopes were located close to the site required for biological activity. It is suggested that the similarity between the immunogenic characteristics of bovine, ovine and caprine AMH is in some way related to the fact that AMH in these species is disseminated in the blood stream and may produce freemartinism.