INVITRO ANTIBODY-RESPONSE TO CELL-SURFACE ANTIGENS .2. MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES TO HUMAN LEUKEMIA-CELLS

Abstract

A method was developed for production of monoclonal mouse antibody responses in vitro against human cell surface antigens. Limiting numbers of immune spleen cells were transferred to syngeneic, irradiated recipients whose spleen fragments were then cultured in vitro and stimulated to produce antibody. The majority of the antibody from any fragment culture was likely to be the product of a single donor B [bone marrow derived] cell and thus monoclonal. Evidence for this included a linear relationship between donor cells transferred and spleen fragments producing antibody, extremely restricted isoelectric focusing patterns of the individual antibody products and unique reactivity patterns of these antibodies against a panel of human lymphoid cells. Different human B leukemia cells were seen as immunogenically distinct by the mouse. By using the monoclonal mouse antibodies as probes, a fine analysis of cell surface antigens is now possible.