RPMI 1640, fetal bovine serum, streptomycin sulfate, penicillin G sodium and amphotericin B were purchased from Gibco BRL (Gaithersburg, MD, USA). Mineral oil (Nujol) was purchased from Schering-Plough (Sao Paulo, Brazil). Phenyl methyl sulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) was purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (St Louis, MO, USA). A Protein G column and a PD-10 desalting column were purchased from GE Healthcare (Uppsala, Sweden). All synthetic peptides, including FITC-labeled peptides, were synthesized and purified by HPLC to purities greater than 95% by the Chinese Peptides Company (Hangzhou, China). The 1A3H2 and 2C7D5F10 anti-LDL (−) mAbs were obtained as previously described [11].