Monoclonal antibodies against rabies virus produced by somatic cell hybridization: detection of antigenic variants.

Somatic cell hybrids (hybridomas) between mouse myeloma cells and spleen cells derived from BALB/c mice immunized with inactivated rabies vaccine were found to produce antibodies to rabies virus. Monoclonal antibodies with different specificities were obtained either from the mass culture directly after fusion or from clones derived from a single-cell cloning procedure. Several strains of fixed or street rabies virus were analyzed by virus neutralization procedures which demonstrated differences in their antigenic composition. Hybridoma antibodies were able to protect experimental animals from lethal rabies virus infection.