New human fusion partners, ICLU-B, -T, -E for making human hybridomas derived from various immunological cells.

To investigate human immune responses, it is useful to use cultured human immunological cell lines. Cell fusion is one method to immortalize desired cells. Therefore, we established HAT sensitive human fusion partners, ICLU-B derived from human burkitt lymphoma, ICLU-T from human T cell acute lymphocytic leukemia, ICLU-E from human eosinophilic leukemia, for efficiently making various human immunological hybridomas. When each fusion partner was fused with human peripheral blood lymphocytes or cord blood lymphocytes, their fusion efficiencies were about 1.3, 0.3 and 0.4 clones per 10(5) fusion partners. Approximately 70% of hybridomas derived from ICLU-B were CD19 positive hybridomas, and approximately 80% of those derived from ICLU-T were CD2 positive hybridomas. The CD4 positive or CD8 positive hybridomas of the CD2 positive were approximately 35% and 15%, respectively. Though approximately 80% of hybridomas derived from ICLU-E were CD2 or CD19 positive hybridomas, phagocytosis was observed in the remaining hybridomas which were both CD2 and CD19 negative. Most obtained hybridomas could proliferate in serum free medium as well as the fusion partners. These results suggested that ICLU-B, -T, -E were useful for making human hybridomas derived from various immunological cells.