Immortalized rabbit hybridoma fusion partner
AssigneeLoyola University of Chicago
InventorKatherine L. Knight
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Novel methods are provided for producing rabbit fusion partners for the production of specific binding proteins, particularly immunoglobulins. Nuclei of rabbit fertilized ova are microinjected with an oncogene to express specifically in lymphoid cells (i.e., lymphoid specific) and the embryos are then implanted in appropriate hosts. The newborns are maintained to sexual maturity and are either mated with rabbit hosts that developed from embryos that had been microinjected with a different lymphoid-specific oncogene or their fertilized eggs are microinjected with another oncogene specific for lymphoid cells. The immortalized lymphoid cells that develop in these animals may be genetically altered and used as fusion partners to produce rabbit hybridomas for the production of monoclonal antibodies.
Claims25
A rabbit fusion partner comprising a transformed rabbit B-lymphocyte which expresses two oncogenes and is capable of fusing with an activated B-lymphocyte wherein said fusion results in a hybridoma that produces immunoglobulins.
A transgenic rabbit whose germ cells and somatic cells comprise at least two oncogenes each operably linked to a transcription initiation region specific for expression in rabbit B-lymphocytes, wherein the expression of said two oncogenes together results in the transformation of said B-lymphocytes.
A transgenic rabbit whose germ cells and somatic cells comprise:
- (1) a transgene comprising a c-myc oncogene operably linked to an immunoglobulin light-chain enhancer;
- and (2) a transgene comprising a v-abl oncogene operably linked to an immunoglobulin light- or heavy-chain enhancer, wherein said c-myc oncogene and said v-abl oncogene are expressed in the transgenic rabbit's B-lymphocytes and wherein said expression results in the transformation of said B-lymphocytes.
A method for producing rabbit immunoglobulins comprising generating transgenic rabbits having somatic cells and germ cells carrying at least two oncogenes, the expression of which together is effective for the development of plasmacytomas;
- growing said transgenic rabbits until the rabbits develop plasmacytomas;
- harvesting said plasmacytomas and fusing the cells of said plasmacytoma with B-lymphoid cells to produce a hybridoma, and incubating said hybridoma under conditions in which the hybridoma secretes immunoglobulins.
The rabbit plasmacytoma cell line of ATCC Accession Number CRL-11872.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.