Efficient hybridoma production using previously frozen splenocytes.

Splenocytes from immunized mice and rats can be frozen, thawed, and fused with myeloma cells to generate monoclonal antibody-secreting hybridoma cell lines. The hybridoma yield per splenocyte is comparable to, and often better than, the yield when fresh splenocytes are used. Practical advantages of the technique include the ability to utilize all splenocytes from a given mouse or rat, greater scheduling flexibility, and the opportunity to perform small-scale 'test fusions' to monitor the immune responses of a number of immunized animals.