Specificity of antisera produced against bleomycin.

The specificity of antisera produced in a goat or rabbit for use in bleomycin radioimmunoassay has been examined using competitive experiments employing several bleomycin analogs. These studies demonstrate that the antiserum distinguished alterations in both the nucleus and the terminal structure of the molecule. Removal of the terminal structure or addition of an aminosugar moiety in the bleomycin nucleus resulted in a significant decrease in immunoreactivity. Antisera produced in goat and rabbit hosts had different specificity for the terminal structure. The goat antisera demonstrated greater specificity for the terminal side chain than the rabbit antisera although this may not reflect a species-related event.