title: Human monoclonal antibody to purified protein derivative of tuberculin produced by hybrids constructed with Epstein-Barr virus-transformed B lymphocytes and mouse myeloma cells.
abstract: A method of producing human monoclonal antibody by combining somatic cell hybridization technology with the capability of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) to transform human B lymphocytes is described. Peripheral blood lymphocytes from a donor with positive tuberculin skin test reaction were transformed by EBV and then tested for antibody production to mycobacterial purified protein derivative (PPD) by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Two EBV-transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines making IgM antibodies to PPD were obtained. One of these cell lines was fused by polyethylene glycol with a murine hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase-deficient myeloma cell line that had been selected for resistance to ouabain. The human-mouse hybrids were selected in ouabain-containing HAT medium and 11 heterohybridomas producing IgM antibody to PPD were obtained. One of these was cloned by limiting dilution with efficiency at least 20-fold higher than parent EBV-transformed cell line. Heterohybridoma subclones reached levels of IgM antibody as high as 75.0 micrograms/ml of culture medium, whereas IgM production of EBV-transformed B cell clones ranged between 3.0 and 4.0 micrograms/ml.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology*; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D002459:Cell Fusion; D002472:Cell Transformation, Viral; D002999:Clone Cells; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human; D006801:Humans; D006825:Hybridomas / Q000276:immunology*; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000096:biosynthesis; D051379:Mice; D014373:Tuberculin / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D014373:Tuberculin