The long term objective of this proposal is to investigate immunological mechanisms involved in oral helath and disease (specifically dental caries and periodontal disease) in well defined monkey models. To accomplish this objective, it is necessary to have well defined immunologic regents in order to quantitate host responses.
The specific aims of the proposed studies in this small grant application are to: 1) generate monkey monoclonal cell lines producing immunoglobulin of the IgM, IgG and IgA isotypes and 2) generate murine hybridomas producing monoclonal antibodies to mokey IgM, IgG, and IgA. The non-human primate offers an ideal model for studies on the pathogenesis and immunology of oral disease because of their close relatedness to humans. Monkey models have been established for studies of dental caries and periodontal disease which exhibit clinical, microbiological and histological characteristics similar to those which occur in humans. Immunologic studies have taken advantage of the antigenic cross-reactivity between human and monkey immunoglobulins, since monkey reagents are not readily available. However, in order to quantitate responses and to study immune mechanisms, it is necessary to use well characterized monkey immunoglobulin reagents. Therefore, to accomplish this, rhesus monkey peripheral blood will be used for the isolation and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-transformation of B cells producing immunoglobulins of the IgM, IgG or IgA isotype. Murine hybridomas producing monoclonal antibodies to mokey IgM, IgG and IgA will be generated by fusing spleen cells from mice immunized with purified monkey immunoglobulins with murine myeloma cells. These cell lines and hybridomas will be used for the purification of large quantities of monkey immunoglobulin and anti-immunoglobulin reagents and should provide useful reagents for investigators involved in immunologic studies in monkey models.
