ABSTRACT
Antibodies from monoclonal cell cultures are homogeneous and reproducible in industrial quantities. The cell culture was propagated in vivo utilizing BALB/c mice primed with Pristane. Antibody-enriched ascites could be collected 7 to 14 days after tumor cell injection by paracentesis. Myocardial-infarct imaging is a particularly effective application because the relative concentration of antibody Fab in the lesion in comparison to normal tissue is in the range of 10 to 50:1. Antibodies may now be obtained that recognize a single epitope on a protein molecule, which should make it possible to differentiate among antigens that share some common structural features. BALB/c mice were immunized with human cardiac myosin purified from left ventricular myocardium obtained at necropsy utilizing the same method as previously described for canine myosin. Antimyosin antibody activity could be detected in 75% of wells showing cell growth in selective media. The power of specific antibody as a vehicle for imaging specific antigens in vivo has been amply demonstrated.
