A mouse monoclonal antibody with anti-A,(B) specificity which agglutinates Ax cells

A hybridoma (ES-15) was obtained by fusing the NS-1 cell line with spleen cells from a mouse immunised with soluble blood group A2 substance. The cloned hybridoma culture supernatant was shown to contain an IgM class antibody which strongly agglutinates group A cells and weakly agglutinates group B cells. The serological specificity of this antibody is described as anti-A,(B) in this report. The abilities of unconcentrated monoclonal anti-A,(B), a commercial human polyclonal anti-A,B (group O serum) and a commercial monoclonal anti-A reagent to detect 15 examples of Ax cells were compared by both slide and tube techniques. Using a slide technique monoclonal anti-A,(B) agglutinated 14 examples of Ax cells, human anti-A,B 2 examples, while monoclonal anti-A failed to detect any of the Ax cells tested. Similar differences in the reactivity of the three antibodies were observed using a tube technique. Data are also presented which show that a 1:1 (v/v) mixture of monoclonal anti-A,(B) with a monoclonal anti-B reagent is an effective replacement for human anti-A,B in ABO grouping procedures.