Methods of isolating cells and generating monoclonal antibodies

1. A method of generating monoclonal antibodies specific for a desired antigen, comprising the steps:

a) providing a sample from an animal that was exposed to the desired antigen 4-8 days prior, wherein the sample comprises a population of antibody-secreting cells that are secreting antibodies specific for the desired antigen;

b) increasing a concentration of antibody-secreting cells in the sample by enriching for cells with general features characteristic of antibody-secreting cells;

c) isolating a single antibody-secreting cell;

d) cloning a first nucleic acid molecule that encodes the variable region of the heavy chain of the antibody made by the single antibody-secreting cell, and cloning a second nucleic acid molecule that encodes the variable region of the light chain of the antibody made by the single antibody-secreting cell; and

e) transforming host cells with the cloned first and second nucleic acid molecules and expressing the first and second nucleic acid molecules that encode the variable regions or parts thereof of the heavy and light chains of the antibody made by the antibody-secreting cell;

wherein steps d) and e) avoid the mixing of the first and second nucleic acid molecules with other nucleic acid molecules encoding heavy and/or light chain variable regions from different antibodies; and

wherein the concentration of antibody-secreting cells in the sample by enriching for cells with general features characteristic of antibody-secreting cells according to b) is increased without using the desired antigen by a method selected from:

i) a method comprising enriching for cells or depleting cells in the sample with surface markers;

ii) a method comprising increasing the concentration of cells in the sample for cells with enlarged endoplasmic reticulum and/or Golgi apparatus as compared with other cells in the sample;

iii) a method comprising increasing the concentration of cells in the sample that have high levels of intracellular immunoglobulin as compared with other cells in the sample; and

iv) a method comprising any combination of i), and/or iii).

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the animal is human and wherein the concentration of antibody-secreting cells in the sample by enriching for cells with general features characteristic of antibody-secreting cells according to b) is increased by enriching for cells expressing low levels of CD19 and high levels of CD27 and CD38.

3. The method according to claim 2 , further comprising enriching for cells expressing high levels of HLA-DR.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the concentration of antibody-secreting cells in the sample by enriching for cells with general features characteristic of antibody-secreting cells according to b) is increased by increasing the concentration in the sample for cells with enlarged endoplasmic reticulum or Golgi apparatus by selectively staining the endoplasmic reticulum or Golgi apparatus with fluorescent dyes that stain the endoplasmic reticulum or Golgi apparatus in viable cells and isolating in c) the single antibody-secreting cell with a fluorescence-activated cell sorter.

5. A method of generating monoclonal antibodies specific for a desired antigen, comprising the steps:

a) providing a sample from an animal that was exposed to the desired antigen 4-8 days prior, wherein the sample comprises a population of antibody-secreting cells that are secreting antibodies specific for the desired antigen;

b) allowing cells in the sample to adhere to particles that are coated with an agent that captures antibodies secreted by an individual antibody-secreting cell and identifying antibody-secreting cells by detecting the captured antibodies with detectable reagents;

c) isolating a single antibody-secreting cell;

d) cloning a first nucleic acid molecule that encodes the variable region of the heavy chain of the antibody made by the single antibody-secreting cell, and cloning a second nucleic acid molecule that encodes the variable region of the light chain of the antibody made by the single antibody-secreting cell; and

e) transforming host cells with the cloned first and second nucleic acid molecules and expressing the first and second nucleic acid molecules that encode the variable regions or parts thereof of the heavy and light chains of the antibody made by the antibody-secreting cell;

wherein steps d) and e) avoid the mixing of the first and second nucleic acid molecules with other nucleic acid molecules encoding heavy and/or light chain variable regions from different antibodies and wherein in (b) the enrichment is achieved without use of the desired antigen.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the agent that captures antibodies secreted by the individual cells comprises Protein A, Protein G, or antibodies that bind to antibodies from the species of animal from which the sample was obtained.

7. A method of generating monoclonal antibodies specific for a desired antigen using a reverse plaque assay, comprising the steps:

a) providing a sample from an animal that was exposed to the desired antigen 4-8 days prior, wherein the sample comprises a population of recently generated antibody-secreting cells that are secreting antibodies specific for the desired antigen;

b) incubating the sample with erythrocytes coated with an agent that captures secreted antibodies in liquid or a semi-solid medium that includes, or to which is added, a source of complement and a secondary antibody that binds to and forms complexes with antibodies secreted by the antibody-secreting cells to form a mixture, wherein the agent that captures the antibodies is not the desired antigen;

c) incubating the mixture to allow hemolytic plaques to develop;

d) identifying individual hemolytic plaques;

e) isolating the central single antibody-secreting cell that generated the individual hemolytic plaque;

f) cloning a first nucleic acid molecule that encodes the variable region of the heavy chain of the antibody made by the single antibody-secreting cell, and cloning a second nucleic acid molecule that encodes the variable region of the light chain of the antibody made by the single antibody-secreting cell; and

g) transforming host cells with the cloned first and second nucleic acid molecules and expressing the first and second nucleic acid molecules that encode the variable regions or parts thereof of the heavy and light chains of the antibody made by the antibody-secreting cell;

wherein steps f) and q) avoid the mixing of the first and second nucleic acid molecules with other nucleic acid molecules encoding heavy and/or light chain variable regions from different antibodies.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the agent that captures the secreted antibodies comprise Protein A, Protein G, or antibodies that bind to antibodies from the species of animal from which the sample was obtained.

9. The method according to claim 1 ; wherein isolating a single antibody secreting cell in (c) comprises first labeling the antibody-secreting cells with a label that enables single cells to be distinguished from multiple cells.

10. The method according to claim 9 , wherein the label is Hoescht 33342, CFSE or PKH26.

11. The method according to claim 1 , wherein (c) comprises isolating a single cell by limiting dilution.

12. The method according to claim 1 , wherein (c) comprises isolating a single cell by micromanipulation.

13. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the antibody-secreting cell is expanded to a clone prior to cloning the nucleic acid molecules.

14. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the sample is a blood sample.

15. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the concentration of antibody-secreting cells in the sample by enriching for cells with general features characteristic of antibody-secreting cells according to b) is increased by a method comprising enriching for cells that have high levels of CD138.

16. The method according to claim 2 , further comprising depleting cells expressing high levels of CXCR3 and/or CXCR4 and/or CD20.