Mouse monoclonal antibodies specific for endothelial cells.

Balb/c mice were immunized with a human endothelial cell pool. Spleen cells were then fused with a NS-O hybridoma cell line. A number of hybridomas secreted antibodies that reacted with the immunizing endothelial cell pool as well as with every other tested umbilical cord vein derived human endothelial cell. These monoclonal antibodies also stained pig, rabbit and ox aortic endothelial cells indicating their specificity for this cell type. Five of 16 monoclonal antibodies additionally reacted with human fibroblasts (HFIB). The produced monoclonal antibodies did not recognize FVIIIR:AG or MHC determinants. They can therefore be regarded as additional and reliable markers for endothelial cells in vitro.