Hapten-Specific Single-Cell Selection of Hybridoma Clones by Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting for the Generation of Monoclonal Antibodies

Anal Chem. 2017 Apr 4;89(7):4007-4012. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.6b04569. Epub 2017 Mar 22.

Abstract

The conventional hybridoma screening and subcloning process is generally considered to be one of the most critical steps in hapten-specific antibody production. It is time-consuming, monoclonality is not guaranteed, and the number of clones that can be screened is limited. Our approach employs a novel hapten-specific labeling technique of hybridoma cells. This allows for fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) and single-cell deposition and thereby eliminates the above-mentioned problems. A two-step staining approach is used to detect antigen specificity and antibody expression: in order to detect antigen specificity, hybridoma cells are incubated with a hapten-horseradish peroxidase conjugate (hapten-HRP), which is subsequently incubated with a fluorophore-labeled polyclonal anti-peroxidase antibody (anti-HRP-Alexa Fluor 488). To characterize the expression of membrane-bound immunoglobulin G (IgG), a fluorophore-labeled anti-mouse IgG antibody (anti-IgG-Alexa Fluor 647) is used. Hundreds of labeled hybridoma cells producing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) specific for a hapten were rapidly isolated and deposited from a fusion mixture as single-cell clones via FACS. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) measurements of the supernatants of the sorted hybridoma clones revealed that all hapten-specific hybridoma clones secrete antibodies against the target. There are significant improvements using this high-throughput technique for the generation of mAbs including increased yield of antibody-producing hybridoma clones, ensured monoclonality of sorted cells, and reduced development times.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal / biosynthesis*
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal / immunology*
  • Cell Separation*
  • Clone Cells* / cytology
  • Clone Cells* / immunology
  • Flow Cytometry*
  • Haptens / chemistry*
  • Hybridomas / cytology*
  • Hybridomas / immunology
  • Mice
  • Single-Cell Analysis*

Substances

  • Antibodies, Monoclonal
  • Haptens