Affiliations: [a] National Laboratory for Immunology, Laboratory Centre for Disease Control, Ottawa, Canada | [b] Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada | [c] Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
Note: [] Address reprint requests to: Bernard R. Brodeur, Ph.D., Chief. National Laboratory for Immunology, Laboratory Centre for Disease Control, HPB Bldg #7. Room 181, Tunney's Pasture, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, KIA OL2.
Abstract: Four human monoclonal antibodies directed against human cytomegalovirus were produced by fusing Sp2/HPT heteromyeloma cells with peripheral blood lymphocytes, after stimulation in vitro for 6 days. The human hybridomas have been maintained in culture for one year and secrete, when cultured in serum-free medium, between 3.1 and 8.1 μg/ml of antibodies/106 cells/24 hours. HCV-1 and HCV-2 are IgG2κ, while HCV-3 and HCV-4 are JgG3λ. The four monoclonal antibodies immunoprecipitate a viral protein of 64 kD. Kinetic studies using indirect immunofluorescence indicate that this antigen appears late in the viral infectious cycle. All four monoclonal antibodies recognize human cytomegalovirus prototype strains AD-169, Davis and Towne, and 14 clinical isolates collected between 1984 and 1987. No reactivity was observed with other human herpesviruses. While no neutralizing activity could be observed with the human monoclonal antibodies, binding assays on unfixed infected cells showed that they recognized viral epitopes located on the cell surface membrane. These hybridomas may be useful for future therapy of immunocompromised patients.
