METHODS FOR IN VITRO DETERMINATION OF ERYTHROPOIETIN BIOACTIVITY

摘要

The present invention is directed to an in vitro method of determining the in vivo EPO activity of a sample containing EPO. More particularly, the present method comprises treating a sample containing EPO under conditions which remove desialylated EPO, and measuring the in vitro EPO activity of the resulting treated sample. In a preferred embodiment, desialylated EPO is removed from the sample by incubating the sample with cells of the human hepatoma cell line HepG2, and in vitro EPO activity is determined by incubating the treated sample with cells of an EPO-responsive cell line and measuring the proliferation or viability of the EPO-responsive cells. The present invention is useful, for example, in quantitating the biologically active EPO in a variety of sample types.