Spontaneous hybridoma formation induced by immunization with Haemophilus paragallinarum: evidence for a lipopolysaccharide fusion inducer

The phenomenon of spontaneous fusion between myeloma cells and splenocytes from mice immunized with formalin-inactivated Haemophilus paragallinarum cells, has been reported on recently (1). The identity and properties of the bacterial inducer of fusogenicity of splenocytes have been further investigated with the aid of a monoclonal antibody VF3 against H. paragallinarum (2), which has a bacterial strain specificity correlating with the ability of the strains to induce spontaneous fusion between splenocytes of immunized mice and myeloma cells. It was shown that the lipopolysaccharide fraction of the bacteria was required for the induction of fusogenicity. LPS involvement was clearly indicated by the parallel effects on VF3 antigenicity and fusogenic inductivity of various treatments such as proteolytic digestion, periodate oxidation and sensitivity towards alkali, acid or freezing.