Establishment of Autoantibody‐Producing Cell Lines from Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes of Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

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Abstract
Autoantibody‐producing B cell lines were established from peripheral blood lymphocytes of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Peripheral blood lymphocytes obtained from five of seven patients were successfully transformed by Epstein‐Barr virus. Two of four established B lymphoblastoid cell lines examined in this study produced anti‐nuclear factor antibodies and one of them produced anti‐single‐stranded DNA and anti‐double‐stranded DNA antibodies. These results indicate that B cell clones committed to self antigens are transformed by Epstein‐Barr virus and continue to produce autoantibodies. In order to establish a monoclonal autoantibody‐producing B cell line, the cells were cloned by a limiting dilution method. The data suggest that it is possible to establish a monoclonal autoantibody‐producing B cell line by the combination of transformation of B cells by Epstein‐Barr virus and extensive cloning.