Production of monoclonal antibodies to preneoplastic liver cell populations induced by chemical carcinogens in rats and to transplantable Morris hepatomas.

Monoclonal antibodies (moabs) to neoplastic and preneoplastic liver cells in rats have been selected to follow cellular changes in the livers during chemical carcinogenesis. The moabs were induced by immunizations of BALB/c mice with four partially purified liver cell preparations: 1) oval cells induced in male Fischer rats fed 0.05% N-2-acetylaminofluorene in a choline deficient diet: 2) preneoplastic gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase positive hepatocytes induced by i.p. injection of diethylnitrosamine into male Fischer rats followed by 0.02% N-2-acetylaminofluorene and partial hepatectomy (Solt-Farber model): 3) sharply dissected neoplastic nodules induced in male Fischer rats by five 2-week cycles of 0.05% N-2-acetylaminofluorene diet: and 4) Morris hepatomas 7777 and 5123 passaged in male Buffalo rats. The hybridomas were screened by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay or by indirect immunofluorescence on composite cryostat sections of fetal and adult rat liver, liver containing neoplastic nodules, and Morris hepatoma 7777. Positive clones were limit diluted and partially characterized by indirect immunofluorescence on cryostat sections of other preneoplastic and neoplastic rat livers as well as normal rat tissues. Two moabs to oval cells, two moabs to hepatocytes, and one moab to hepatomas have been selected for further study.