Production and screening of cell hybrids producing a monoclonal antibody to human interferon-alpha.

Mice and rats were immunized with human lymphoblastoid interferon, a mixture of human leukocyte (interferon-alpha) and human fibroblast (interferon-beta) interferons, and their serum anti-interferon levels measured. Anti-interferon activity was detected in all animals, although the mouse sera had higher titers than the rat sera. The spleens of two mice were removed and used to prepare hybrid myelomas. Anti-interferon activity in tissue culture supernatants was measured using a direct neutralization assay and a clone (NK2) producing antibody to human interferon-alpha (leukocyte) was isolated. The anti-interferon activity of this monoclonal antibody was confirmed using a new indirect immunoprecipitation (IIP) assay, which shows some advantages over the direct neutralization assay. The antibody did not neutralize human interferon-beta (fibroblast) or mouse interferon.