Abstract: Objective To investigate the immunological activity and the effect of an anti-keratin monoclonal antibody 5G5 on the proliferation of serum-free cultured keratinocytes. Methods The reactivity of 5G5 with cultured keratinocytes was observed by immunohistohemistry technique. The keratins extracted from the cultured keratinocytes was identified by SDS-PAGE and their reactivities with 5G5 were assessed by immunoblot analysis. MTT was used to study the influences of 5G5 on the proliferation of cultured keratinocytes. Results 5G5 recognized the band of keratin with molecular weight of 50 000 only. Positive staining of 5G5 was found in the cytoplasm of cultured keratinocytes. The strong potential of 5G5 to inhibit the proliferation of cultured keratinocytes was shown by MTT assay with dose-dependent manner. Conclusions The antibody which specifically recognizes the keratin with molecular weight of 50 000 may be the effective component to inhibit the proliferation of cultured keratinocytes.

Key words: Keratin, Antibodies,monoclonal, Keratinocytes