Monoclonal antibodies from Epstein-Barr virus-transformed lymphocytes of common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) immune to malaria

Johnston, D.A.; Knight, A.M.; Naylor, B.A.; Wedderburn, N.; Mitchell, G.H.

The B lymphocytes of the common marmoset Callithrix jacchus can be immortalised by infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in vitro (Desranges et al., 1976). C. jacchus is susceptible to infection with the blood stages of several species of malaria parasite including the line designated MVF1 (Mitchell et al., 1988) from which it recovers and shows immunity to reinfection. By exploiting these two phenomena, EBV-transformed, marmoset lymphoblastoid cell lines secreting antibodies to malaria parasite antigens have been generated and cloned. We believe this to be the first time that monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) have been raised from common marmosets. Since numerous and diverse human pathogens can infect this small primate in the laboratory, these methods may prove generally applicable for the generation of MAbs whose specificities derive from immune responses to infection.