Growth of hybridoma cells in serum-free medium: ethanolamine is an essential component

A serum-free medium supplemented with a few growth factors was devised to grow lymphocyte hybridomas. The medium was developed with the hybridoma line MPC11-BL, a fusion product between a mouse plasmacytoma cell line (MPC11TG70na3) and mouse (BALB/c) spleen cells. In the process of developing the medium, ethanolamine was found to be an essential growth factor for the hybridoma. Phosphoethanolamine at 10-fold higher concentration could substitute for ethanolamine. Long-term cultivation of the cells was achieved in the defined medium supplemented with insulin, transferrin, ethanolamine, and selenium. The defined medium supported the growth of various other mouse hybridoma cell lines, mostly at a rate comparable to that observed in a serum-containing medium. After one-step ammonium sulfate precipitation of the spent medium, more than 95% of the protein recovered was immunoglobulin as shown by NaDodSO4/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.