Determination of prostacyclin in plasma through a bioluminescent immunoassay for 6-keto-prostaglandin F1alpha: implication of dosage in patients with primary pulmonary hypertension

Anal Chem. 2002 Aug 1;74(15):3892-8. doi: 10.1021/ac025518v.

Abstract

This work describes a solid-phase immunoassay for 6-keto-prostaglandin F1alpha, the stable hydrolysis product of prostacyclin (prostaglandin I2). Prostacyclin, a potent vasodilator with antiplatelet and antiproliferative properties is an effective treatment for primary pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with scleroderma and scleroderma-like syndrome. Levels of 6-keto-prostaglandin F1alpha can be directly correlated with levels of prostacyclin. Therefore, 6-keto-prostaglandin F1alpha, has become the indicator of choice to measure prostacyclin levels. The single-step immunoassay for 6-keto-prostaglandin F1alpha reported here was developed using the bioluminescent protein aequorin as a label. Analyte-label conjugates were constructed by linking the carboxyl group of 6-keto-prostaglandin F1alpha and lysine residues of aequorin by chemical conjugation methods. The binding properties of 6-keto-prostaglandin F1alpha toward its antibody and the bioluminescent properties of aequorin were retained in the conjugate, which was then used to generate a dose-response curve for the analyte in a convenient microtiter plate format. The concentration of 6-keto-prostaglandin F1alpha after extraction from plasma showed good correlation with the concentration of 6-ketoprostaglandin F1alpha obtained without prior extraction of the same plasma sample. This measurement demonstrated that the assay allows the measurement of 6-keto-prostaglandin F1alpha directly in plasma without any pretreatment of the samples, which results in a much simpler method with a faster assay time.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • 6-Ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha / blood
  • 6-Ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha / immunology
  • Aequorin
  • Antihypertensive Agents / blood*
  • Antihypertensive Agents / pharmacokinetics
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Cross Reactions
  • Drug Monitoring / methods*
  • Drug Monitoring / standards
  • Epoprostenol / blood*
  • Epoprostenol / immunology
  • Epoprostenol / pharmacokinetics
  • Humans
  • Hypertension, Pulmonary / drug therapy
  • Immunoassay / methods
  • Luminescent Proteins
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sensitivity and Specificity

Substances

  • Antihypertensive Agents
  • Luminescent Proteins
  • Aequorin
  • 6-Ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha
  • Epoprostenol