title: A method for producing monoclonal antibodies to human T-cell-receptor beta-chain variable regions.
abstract: Study of the T-cell repertoire in humans has been hampered by the lack of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to the T-cell receptor (TCR) variable region (V) gene products. We describe a method for producing mAbs to the human TCR beta-chain V (V beta) gene products in which mice were immunized with a rat basophil cell line (RBL-2H3) transfected with the extracellular domain of the TCR heterodimer fused to the lambda chain of CD3. These cells acted as excellent immunogens for raising anti-TCR mAb and also formed the basis of a rapid screening assay. We generated mAbs against V beta protein of the TCR, showed that these mAbs stained approximately 1% of peripheral blood T cells, and further showed that the mAbs could stimulate proliferation of these T cells. We then characterized the mAbs by amplifying TCR cDNA derived from mAb-stimulated cells and sequencing the beta chain. All clones sequenced used the V beta 7.1 chain, proving conclusively that the mAbs generated were specific for V beta 7.1 subfamily. This method generates mAbs to human TCR V beta proteins efficiently and might allow production of a complete panel of mAbs directed against human TCR V beta proteins.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Callan
authors.forename: H T
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Reyburn
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bowness
authors.forename: T H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Ottenhoff
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Engel
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Klausner
authors.forename: J I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: McMichael
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D006825:Hybridomas; D015471:Leukemia, Basophilic, Acute; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011233:Precipitin Tests; D051381:Rats; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D014162:Transfection; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta; D011994:Recombinant Proteins