Enhanced growth characteristics of hybridoma cells infected with myc- and ras-containing retroviruses.

The introduction of retrovirally encoded myc or ras genes into the mouse hybridoma cell line PQXB 1/2, in which antibody production is unstable, resulted in altered growth characteristics: infected cells showed increased growth rates, higher peak cell densities, and slower decline of viability following maximum density than did control cultures. In addition, some oncogene-infected cultures maintained initial levels of antibody production during 16 weeks in culture, while antibody levels fell by 90% in uninfected PQXB cells. Both myc and ras oncogenes were expressed at only low levels in control and infected cells. These results suggest that oncogene expression in hybridomas can lead to enhanced growth characteristics and can stabilize antibody production.