Hybridoma is a scientific term denoting a hybrid cell. The term is pronounced as "hahy-brih-doh-muh" and it is spelled using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as /haɪˈbrɪdəʊmə/. The word consists of several syllables, with the stress on the second one, "bri". The "hy" in hybridoma represents the sound /haɪ/ that represents the combination of two sounds /h/ and /aɪ/. The "bri" in hybridoma is pronounced as /brɪ/, while the "do" is /dəʊ/, and the "ma" is /mə/. The correct spelling and pronunciation of this word are essential in scientific research.
A hybridoma is a term used in biology and immunology to describe a stable hybrid cell line created through the fusion of a specific type of immune B-cell with a tumor cell, often a myeloma cell. This process is usually achieved through laboratory techniques such as cell fusion or genetic engineering. The resulting hybridoma possesses a unique property - it has the ability to continuously produce a specific type of antibody, which is characteristic of the immune B-cell from which it was derived.
Hybridomas have become an indispensable tool in biomedical research, especially in the field of monoclonal antibody production. Monoclonal antibodies are highly specific and uniform antibodies that can target and bind to a specific molecule, such as a protein or a virus. The development of hybridoma technology in the 1970s by César Milstein and Georges Köhler revolutionized the field of immunology, as it allowed for the large-scale production of monoclonal antibodies.
The hybridoma methodology involves isolating and fusing a single B-cell with a myeloma cell to create a hybridoma cell. The resulting hybridoma cell possesses the ability to divide indefinitely (like a tumor cell) and the capability to produce antibodies (like a B-cell). By carefully selecting and culturing hybridoma cells with the desired antibody characteristics, scientists can obtain monoclonal antibodies that have a high degree of specificity, uniformity, and reproducibility. These monoclonal antibodies have found a wide range of applications, including diagnostic tests, therapeutic treatments, and research purposes.
The word "hybridoma" is a combination of two words: "hybrid" and "oma".
- "Hybrid" comes from the Latin word "hybridus", which means "offspring of a mixed-breed" or "mongrel". In English, "hybrid" is commonly used to describe the offspring of two different species or varieties.
- "Oma" is a Greek word that means "tumor" or "mass".
The term "hybridoma" was coined in 1975 by César Milstein, Georges J. F. Köhler, and Niels K. Jerne when describing a technique they developed to produce hybrid cells that can continuously produce specific antibodies. These cells are created by fusing a B-lymphocyte (a type of white blood cell) from the spleen of an immunized animal with a cancerous myeloma cell.