Monoclonal antibody capable of binding integrin alpha 10 beta 1

A method for isolating a population of mammalian chondrocytes, the method comprising the steps of:

• a) providing a cell suspension comprising chondrocytes,
• b) contacting the cell suspension with a monoclonal antibody or a fragment thereof capable of binding specifically to the extracellular I-domain of the integrin alpha10 chain, under conditions wherein said monoclonal antibody or fragment thereof forms an antibody-antigen complex with the extracellular I-domain of integrin alpha10beta1, wherein said monoclonal antibody is antibody 365 produced by a hybridoma cell line deposited at the Deutsche Sammlung von Microorganismen und Zellkulturen GmbH under the accession number DSM ACC2583,
• c) separating cells binding to the monoclonal antibody or fragment thereof in b), wherein separation is achieved mechanically via a solid support bound directly or indirectly to the monoclonal antibody or fragment thereof, or by cell sorting via a label bound directly or indirectly to the monoclonal antibody or fragment thereof, and optionally
• d) recovering cells binding to the monoclonal antibody or fragment thereof in c) from said antibody or fragment thereof,
• thereby producing a population of chondrocytes, optionally free from said antibody or fragment thereof.