B-cell display-based one-step method to generate chimeric human IgG monoclonal antibodies

Abstract

The recent development of screening strategies based on the generation and display of large libraries of antibody fragments has allowed considerable advances for the in vitro isolation of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). We previously developed a technology referred to as the ‘ADLib (Autonomously Diversifying Library) system’, which allows the rapid screening and isolation in vitro of antigen-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) from libraries of immunoglobulin M (IgM) displayed by the chicken B-cell line DT40. Here, we report a novel application of the ADLib system to the production of chimeric human mAbs. We have designed gene knock-in constructs to generate DT40 strains that coexpress chimeric human IgG and chicken IgM via B-cell-specific RNA alternative splicing. We demonstrate that the application of the ADLib system to these strains allows the one-step selection of antigen-specific human chimeric IgG. In addition, the production of chimeric IgG can be selectively increased when we modulate RNA processing by overexpressing the polyadenylation factor CstF-64. This method provides a new way to efficiently design mAbs suitable for a wide range of purposes including antibody therapy.