Qualification of a free ligand assay in the presence of anti-ligand antibody Fab fragments

The aim of this work was to develop and characterize an ELISA to measure free ligand concentrations in rat serum in the presence of a Fab to the same ligand. A variety of experiments were conducted to understand optimal assay conditions and to verify that only free ligand was detected. The parameters explored included sample incubation time on plate, the initial concentrations of Fab and ligand, and the pre-incubation time required for the Fab-ligand complex concentrations to reach equilibrium. We found the optimal experimental conditions to include a 10-minute on-plate incubation of ligand-containing samples, with a 24-hour pre-incubation time for test samples of Fab and ligand to reach equilibrium. An alternative approach, involving removal of Fab-ligand complexes from the solution prior to measuring concentrations of the ligand, was also used to verify that the assay only measured free ligand. Rats were dosed subcutaneously with Fab and the assay was used to demonstrate dose-dependent suppression of endogenous free ligand levels in vivo.