title: Epstein-Barr virus transformation of Saimiri sciureus (squirrel monkey) B cells and generation of a Plasmodium brasilianum-specific monoclonal antibody in P. brasilianum-infected monkeys.
abstract: The new-world monkeys Saimiri sciureus (squirrel monkeys) are currently used as a model to test the efficacy of vaccines against human malaria. To improve our knowledge on this model, we tested the susceptibility of S. sciureus B cells to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. B-lymphoblastoid cell lines were obtained from six of six healthy animals after infection with the B95-8 source of EBV. The frequency distributions of spleen B cells clonally committed to the production of immunoglobulins M and G, as measured by limiting dilution analysis, were from 1 in 179 to 1 in 1,085 and from 1 in 45 to 1 in 60, respectively, in three monkeys naturally infected with Plasmodium brasilianum. In the same three animals, the frequency of spleen B cells committed to the production of P. brasilianum-specific antibody ranged from 1 in 2,211 to 1 in 9,099. One B-lymphoblastoid cell line producing anti-P. brasilianum-specific antibody was cloned twice, and the immunoglobulin G produced was purified. This monoclonal antibody recognized a parasite component of 197 kDa and was specific for Plasmodium malariae and P. brasilianum parasites. These data document that squirrel monkey B cells naturally primed by an infectious agent can be efficiently used to produce monospecific antibodies against the infectious agent.
authors.affiliation: Division of Parasitic Diseases, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia 30333.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chizzolini
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Sulzer
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Olsen-Rasmussen
authors.forename: W E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Collins
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology*; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000276:immunology*; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002472:Cell Transformation, Viral; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000096:biosynthesis; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008288:Malaria / Q000276:immunology*; D008970:Molecular Weight; D010961:Plasmodium / Q000276:immunology*; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D012453:Saimiri / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D015800:Protozoan Proteins