Cell Fusion Protocol

In medicine and biotechnology scientists use antibodies to isolate proteins or to test to see whether a protein is present. One way to produce antibodies involves forming a hybridoma through cell fusion.

Features

• Antibodies are Y-shaped molecules produced by the immune system that are highly specific to a particular target molecule. For cell fusion, technicians will first inject a protein into mice so that their immune systems produce antibodies against the protein. Once sufficient time has elapsed, the mice are euthanized and white blood cells harvested from their spleens.

Function

• Next, white blood cells are mixed with melanoma cancer cells in a medium with polyethylene glycol, or PEG. PEG encourages cell fusion. Other chemicals are also added so cells which do not fuse will die. The surviving cells are hybridomas, a cancer cell fused with a white blood cell. Unlike the original white blood cells, they are immortal and can continue to divide indefinitely. The new hybridomas are cultured and grown, then tested using a procedure called enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, or ELISA, to isolate hybridomas producing the antibody needed.

Significance

• Labs can use monoclonal antibodies produced by cell fusion hybridomas to test for specific proteins and antibodies, like those that mark the presence of viral diseases, in blood samples from patients. Monoclonal antibodies also find a wide variety of uses in biomedical research. Some researchers have proposed monoclonal antibodies as a possible treatment for cancer.