Hybridoma

Hybridoma is a cell hybrid resulting from the fusion of a cancer cell (often a myeloma) and a normal antibody-producing B cell. These cells are used to produce monoclonal antibodies in a method known as hybridoma technology.

History

The hybridoma technology was invented by Georges Köhler and César Milstein who shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1984 with Niels Kaj Jerne, who made other contributions to immunology.

Production

Hybridomas are produced by injecting a mouse (or other mammal) with an antigen that provokes an immune response. A type of white blood cell, the B cell, produces antibodies that bind to the injected antigen. These antibody-producing B cells are then harvested from the mouse and fused with myeloma cells. The fusion is accomplished by making both types of cells permeable to polyethylene glycol (PEG). The walls of the cells fuse, combining the desired qualities of the two different types of cells. The successful hybrids are then selected by culturing these cells in a medium that only the hybrids can survive. The resulting hybridomas can be cloned to produce identical daughter clones forming a clone library.

Applications

Hybridomas can be grown in culture in the lab or in the abdomen of a mouse, where they form ascites tumors, which produce large amounts of associated monoclonal antibodies. These antibodies can be harvested and used in the research, diagnostic, and therapeutic applications for which monoclonal antibodies have become an important tool.

See also

• Monoclonal antibodies
• Antibody
• B cell
• Myeloma
• Hybridoma technology
• Georges Köhler
• César Milstein
• Niels Kaj Jerne

Hybridoma Resources
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