First human myeloma cell-line

Abstract

More than 25 years after Kohler and Milstein developed their Nobel Prize-winning mouse hybridomas for the production of monoclonal antibodies, Dr Abraham Karpas’ team from Cambridge University and King's College Hospital, London have finally created the first human cell line capable of forming stable hybridomas that can produce human monoclonal antibodies. A human myeloma cell-line that was HAT-sensitive and ouabain-resistant was created. Initial problems in fusing the myeloma cell-line with Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)-transformed B cells in the presence of PEG were overcome by creating a PEG-resistant cell-subline. The resulting human hybridomas remain stable and produce large quantities of Ig over many months of growth. Dr Karpas told Trends in Immunology that ‘…the advantage of this technique over currently available techniques which humanize mouse monoclonals is that antibodies can be made following specific-antigen challenge in humans.’ He also suggested that the hybridomas could be useful in producing vaccines against fatal infections such as E. coli 0157, by isolating antibody-producing cells from people who have survived infection. It is hoped that tumor-infiltrating cells could be hybridized to produce antitumor antibodies, which might uncover tumor-specific antigens. In a press release, Dr Cesar Milstein said ‘…this is a substantial achievement – Dr Karpas has solved a puzzle which has bedeviled laboratories across the world for over 20 years.’ Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. (2001) 98, 1799–1804 HM