The Hybridoma and Cell Production Resource was established in 1983 as a shared resource to produce monoclona antibodies, other lymphoid cell products- and to provide immunological reagents, cell lines and cell culture media and additives to Massey Cancer Center investigators. It has been in continuous operation since its inception in 1983 providing services to nearly 30 different laboratories. Dr. Harry D. Bear, Department of Surgery, has been the Director since 1987. The facility, by performing procedures that would be difficult to set up independently, allows research projects to proceed without disruptive and costly delays that would be necessary if monoclonal antibody production were pursued in each individual laboratory of cancer center members. The core personnel also fulfill an educational role in teaching monoclonal antibody and hybridoma technology to investigators, fellows and graduate students. By providing expertise in the production of hybridomas and monoclonal antibodies, the laboratory facilitates the development of new approaches to detection, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer and to basic investigations into the biology of cancer, the host response to cancer and cancer-causing agents. In general, most investigators request development of antibodies against one or two molecular species for identification, detection, blockade and/or purification. In other instances, production of antibody or other cell products from cell lines already available (e.g. from the American Type Culture Collection) is desired. In either situation, the expertise and time required to establish such routine procedures as fusion, cloning. screening and production would be prohibitively expensive and time-consuming for many individual research laboratories within the institution. The facility also provides a frozen cell storage repository for investigators' hybridomas and other cell lines. In response to demand from investigators, this Core will also be providing centralized Mycoplasma testing and """"""""bulk"""""""" culture of eukaryotic cell lines. By centralizing these capabilities. this essential biotechnology has been made available to all investigators.
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