Hybridoma technology: The preferred method for monoclonal antibody generation for in vivo applications

Abstract

This editorial reviews the basics of hybridoma technology, the common uses of mAbs in in vivo applications, and the technical benefits of using hybridomas to generate mAbs for these applications. Alternative methods for mAb discovery and development, such as in vitro combinatorial display libraries and in vivo B-cell sorting, have also been successfully developed [17,19,20]. Display libraries rely on screening large libraries of randomized, synthetic variable VH and VL antibody fragments in order to select the tightest Ag binders, while B-cell sorting relies on identifying and sorting mature B cells from peripheral blood. Unlike hybridoma technology, these methods rely heavily on recombinant mAb expression as the basis of mAb production. While each method certainly has their respective merits and drawbacks, hybridoma technology, despite being a "senior" antibody generation methodology in 2019, still prevails as the most preferred method for discovering mAbs for in vivo applications. With new discoveries made every day to enhance antibody discovery, the future looks very bright for adapting hybridoma technology to support a wide range of in vivo applications.