Human monoclonal antibody against Forssman antigen.

Hybrid cells formed between human lymphocytes and mouse myeloma cells produce human immunoglobulin in culture. Stable antibody-producing cell lines can be isolated after multiple cycles of low-density passage, cloning, and continued selection for immunoglobulin production. The origin and characteristics of a hybrid of human and mouse cells is described. This hybrid produces high concentrations (8.3 micrograms per milliliter) of human immunoglobulin M reactive with the terminal disaccharide of the Forssman glycolipid. These findings point to the potential use of human-mouse hybrid cells as a source of human monoclonal antibodies for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes.