| 摘要 |
The present invention relates to a method for detecting antibodies against a target ant igen in a sample which comprises contacting the sample with labelled target antigen, subjecting the sample to immunoprecipitation to precipitate antibodies in the sample and detecting the presence of antibodies against the target antigen in the sample by means of the presence of labelled target antigen in the immunoprecipitate, wherein the labelled target antigen is a fusion protein comprising the target antigen and a fluorescent protein label and the presence of labelled target antigen in the immunoprecipitate is detected by means of the fluorescence of the fluorescent label. The method is particularly suitable for use where the target antigen is an autoantigen and can also be used to identify autoantigens implicated in a particular autoimmune disorder by screening serum samples from patients with a clinical phenotype indicative or suggestive of an autoimmune disorder and suitable controls. The target protein may be from the cys-loop acetyl choline receptor ion channel gene superfamily, the vo ltage-gated calcium, sodium or potassium ion channel gene superfamily, the glutamate receptor gene family, a receptor tyrosine kinase, or other membrane associated channels such as aquaporin gene family. |
