Production and analysis of IgG monoclonal anti-DNA antibodies from systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients

Abstract

This study compares recently devised methods for producing IgG anti-DNA MoAbs from patients with SLE and analyses the antibodies generated from one patient at different phases of disease. Lymphocytes from SLE patients were transformed with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and/or fused with a heteromyeloma cell line, CB-F7. Direct fusion with CB-F7 resulted in the highest proportion of IgG-secreting lines, whereas EBV transformation resulted in a high percentage of IgM-secreting lines. Using direct fusion, five IgM anti-DNA antibody-secreting hybridomas were generated using lymphocytes from a patient with relatively inactive SLE. Six months later when the disease was active, only IgG anti-DNA antibodies were produced. The antigen-binding patterns of the MoAbs were analysed. Only one of the IgM anti-DNA antibodies reacted with dsDNA by ELISA and none by Crithidia immunofluorescence, whereas two of the IgG antibodies reacted with dsDNA by ELISA and Crithidia but did not bind to ssDNA. Only the two IgG high affinity anti-dsDNA antibodies bound to histones, and this was enhanced by added DNA, whereas three IgM antibodies bound to cardiolipin. This study supports the notion that MoAbs derived from a patient with SLE represent those found in the serum of SLE patients at different stages of disease activity. The binding to histones by the two IgG anti-dsDNA antibodies supports the recently expressed view that antibodies binding DNA/histone may be important in the pathogenesis of SLE.