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Pays tribute to Norio Kato, professor emeritus of Nagoya University in Japan, who died on April 5, 2002. Educational background; Contributions of Kato to the study of x-ray diffraction topography; Affiliations of Kato.

Problem: The objective of this study was to establish an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) system, in an attempt to quantify the amount of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-G protein in amniotic fluid., Method of Study: We established a double-determinant ELISA system using the anti-HLA-G specific mouse monoclonal antibody '87G' as a capture antibody and the horseradish-peroxidase labeled rabbit anti-human beta2-microglobulin antibody as a detection antibody. We then measured the concentration of HLA-G protein in amniotic fluid samples from nine normal second-trimester pregnant women and in serum samples from eight normal males., Results and Conclusion: HLA-G protein was detected in amniotic fluid at a concentration of 275 ng/ml (197-343 ng/ml) (median value and 95% confident range), whereas the concentration of HLA-G protein in male serum was below the minimum detection level.