An enzyme-linked immunoassay for the measurement of rat alpha 1-acid glycoprotein synthesized by cultured hepatocytes

We have developed a sandwich ELISA to quantify rat alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (AGP). The assay correlated well with RID and the minimum detectable concentration was 1 microgram/l. The assay permits high sensitivity determinations of the rate of synthesis of AGP in vitro. The maximum mean rates observed were 1500 and 1800 ng/24 h/10(6) cells for hepatocytes cultured alone and co-cultured hepatocytes respectively and 39 ng/h/10(6) cells for isolated hepatocytes.