Conjugated 1 beta-hydroxycholic acid in the urine of newborns and pregnant women measured by radioimmunoassay using antisera raised against N-(1 beta-hydroxycholyl)-2-aminopropionic acid-bovine serum albumin conjugate.

Anti-tauro 1 beta-hydroxycholic acid antisera were prepared by immunizing rabbits with N-(1 beta,3 alpha, 7 alpha, 12 alpha-tetrahydroxy-5 beta-cholan-24-oyl)-2- aminopropionic acid-bovine serum albumin (BSA) conjugate. The antisera raised had high affinity (1.25-1.46 x 10(9) M-1) and specificity for conjugated 1 beta-hydroxycholic acid; cross-reactivity for glyco 1 beta-hydroxycholic acid was 100% and that for the glycine and taurine conjugates of other 1 beta-hydroxylated bile acids ranged from 11.30 to 0.23%. Urinary concentrations of conjugated 1 beta-hydroxycholic acid were determined by radioimmunoassay in newborns, 0-20 d after birth, in amounts ranging from 0.29 to 18.51 micrograms/ml and in women in late pregnancy (less than 1.13 micrograms/ml), as well as in normal women (less than 0.12 microgram/ml).