Rapid production of monoclonal antibodies to T lymphocyte functional antigens

Brief immunization of rats with mouse lymphoid cells was combined with the rat/mouse hybridoma technology and functional hybridoma screening to yield a rapid method for the production of monoclonal antibodies (MAb) against functionally important T lymphocyte cell surface antigens. Two protocols were used. In one, rats were immunized once with mouse thymocytes followed by fusion and screening of the hybridomas for interference with the thymocyte co-stimulator (interleukin 1) assay. The resultant hybridomas included producers of MAbs against the L3T4-antigen (inhibitory), the Ly-1-antigen (stimulatory), and the Thy-1-antigen (inhibitory?). In the second protocol, rats were immunized twice with a T cell hybridoma. The resultant hybridomas were screened for inhibition of polyclonal T cell activation, induced by an anti-Thy-1 (MAb G7). A panel of MAbs against the Thy-1 antigen with different reactivity profiles was generated by this procedure. Most of the MAbs were of the IgM class. Short-term immunization may lead to less selection of response to highly immunogenic determinants than a protocol involving several boosters. Thus, this alternative may be useful for producing MAbs against rare or weakly immunogenic cell surface molecules, as suggested by the ease with which we were able to make MAbs against the L3T4-molecule.