Hybridoma technology

Hybridoma technology is a method for producing large numbers of identical antibodies (also called monoclonal antibodies). This process starts by injecting a mouse with an antigen that provokes in an immune response. A type of white blood cell, the B cell that produces antibodies that bind to the antigen are then harvested from the mouse. These isolated B cells are in turn fused with immortal B cell cancer cells, a myeloma, to produce a hybrid cell line called a hybridoma. The myeloma cell line that is used in this process is selected for its ability to grow in tissue culture and for an absence of antibody synthesis. In contrast to polyclonal antibodies, the monoclonal antibodies produced by hybridomas are all of a single antigen specificity.