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An ex vivo method for rapid generation of monoclonal antibodies (ADLib system)

Abstract

Here, we describe a protocol for using the ADLib (Autonomously Diversifying Library) system to rapidly generate specific monoclonal antibodies using DT40, a chicken B-cell line that undergoes constitutive gene conversion at both light- and heavy-chain immunoglobulin loci. We previously developed the ADLib system on the basis of our finding that gene conversion in DT40 cells was enhanced by treatment of the cells with a histone deacetylase inhibitor, trichostatin A (TSA). TSA treatment evolves a diversified library of DT40 cells (ADLib), in which each cell has different surface IgM specificity. Antigen-specific DT40 cells are selected from ADLib using antigen-conjugated magnetic beads, and their specificity can be examined by various immunological assays, using culture supernatant containing secreted IgM. The whole process from selection to screening can be completed in about 1 week. Thus, the ADLib system will accelerate biological studies, including drug discovery and design.

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Figure 1: Typical result of screening ELISA after the selection to raise anti-rabbit IgG mAbs.
Figure 2: Specificity of anti-chicken lysozyme chicken antibodies.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Drs. S. Takeda, M. Takata, T. Yamada, K. Hirota, T. Fukuda and K. Okuhara for helpful advice and discussion; Mr. H. Sasanuma for helpful advice on antibody selection; Ms. K. Arai, A. Nakamura, M. Masuoka, M. Asakawa and Mr. N. Harigai for their experimental support; and all members of Chiome Bioscience Inc. for their help. This work was supported by grants from the REDS (Rational Evolutionary Design of Advanced Biomolecule, Saitama) project, basic research from the Bio-oriented Technology Research Advancement Institution (to T. Shibata and K. Ohta), the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (to M. Fujiwara) and grants-in-aid for scientific research on priority areas from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (to K. Ohta).

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Correspondence to Hidetaka Seo or Kunihiro Ohta.

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1. We are applying patents that are based on the research. 2. Some authors are founders, employees, and stock-holders of Chiome Bioscience, Inc., a private venture company in Tokyo, Japan.

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Seo, H., Hashimoto, Si., Tsuchiya, K. et al. An ex vivo method for rapid generation of monoclonal antibodies (ADLib system). Nat Protoc 1, 1502–1506 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2006.248

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