Monoclonal antibody production in murine ascites. II. Production characteristics.

Objective: To characterize monoclonal antibody production parameters of five hybridoma cell lines in murine ascites for correlation with clinicopathologic changes in mice.

Methods: Five hybridoma cell lines were grown in groups of 20 mice. Fourteen days prior to inoculation with 10(6) hybridoma cells, mice were primed with 0.5 ml of pristane given intraperitoneally. Ascites fluid was collected a maximum of three times by abdominal paracentesis; volume was measured and antibody concentration was determined by ELISA for each sample.

Results: Trends differed among cell lines when comparing ascites volumes and antibody concentrations over time from the first to the third tap. Antibody production was greatest at tap 1 for Groups 2B11 and 2C6D9; tap 2 for Group 3C9; and tap 3 for Groups RMK and 3D6. Total antibody production ranged from 422.90 to 996.64 mg; total ascites fluid volume ranged from 74.2 to 115.7 ml; and mean antibody concentration for taps 1, 2, and 3 ranged from 2.50 to 15.03 mg/ml among cell lines.

Conclusion: Production characteristics were significantly different among hybridoma cell lines. Determination of production characteristics of hybridomas and correlation with clinicopathologic changes in mice may be valuable in making recommendations for managing mice with ascites.