Hybridomas and Monoclonal Antibodies to Jamaican Fruit Bat CD4, CD8a and CD3g

As part of our ongoing efforts to use Jamaican fruit bats as a model organism, CSU researchers developed several cross-reactive mAbs to identify T and B cells; Notably, mAbs for three informative T cell markers, CD3γ, CD4 and CD8α were not previously available.  These markers were targeted for the generation of hybridomas, and identified several clones to each that can be used with flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy. Specificity of the monoclonal antibodies was validated by sorting lymphocytes, followed by PCR identification of confirmatory transcripts. The availability of these monoclonal antibodies permits a more thorough examination of adaptive immune responses in Jamaican fruit bats that should help clarify how the bats control viral infections and without disease.