The Impact of Monoclonal Antibodies on Studies of the Differentiation of Lymphocytes

Abstract

When Georges Köhler and I devised the protocol for the derivation of the first antibody-producing cell line, the idea that this could be an important development in studies of differentiation antigens was certainly not in our minds. Although those monoclonal antibodies (MoAb) were directed against cell surface antigens — anti-sheep red blood cells — the choice was only a convenient experimental device. In fact, we were only interested in a permanent cell line capable of producing an antibody which we could easily follow, and from which mutants could be derived. Anti-sheep red blood cells were chosen because we were able to assay them by sheep red blood cell lysis. This was a happy choice, and may have been an essential ingredient, because we were able to spot the success of our experiments by a direct overlay procedure. That the immortalization of antibody production was at the same time a way of dissecting both the immune response and the antigenic complexity of an immunogen came later.