Comparison of commercially available antibodies for the detection of central nervous system tissue in meat products by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

An indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to compare four commercially available monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies prepared against the markers of central nervous system tissue: glial fibrillary acidic protein, neurofilaments, and myelin basic protein. These antibodies were investigated for their usefulness at the detection of prohibited central nervous system tissue in meat products to prevent spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy and its human form, a new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The detection limit was 2.5 to 10%. The specificity was tested using extracts of tissue samples of bovine and porcine brain, spinal cord, lymphatic node, diaphragm, skeletal muscle, and peripheral nerves. All antibodies reacted with both bovine and porcine tissue extracts.