Isolation of self-recognizing IgG2a monoclonal rheumatoid factors

Hybridoma cell lines were produced by fusing spleen cells from 11 mice that expressed the lpr mutation to nonsecreting SP2/0 myeloma cells. Five to 20% of the hybridoma cell lines so derived were found to secrete antibodies that recognized autologous IgG2a. Out of 168 anti-IgG2a clones tested, 4 clones produced anti-IgG2a rheumatoid factor (RF) that was itself IgG2a. Two clones recognized self IgG2a while the other two clones each recognized a nonself IgG2a allotypic determinant. These findings indicate that self-recognizing antibodies are a component, albeit a minor one, of the RF repertoire of lpr/lpr mice.