Definition

Noun: A hybridoma is a laboratory-created hybrid cell. It is produced by artificially fusing a specific type of white blood cell (a B lymphocyte) with a cancerous tumor cell (a myeloma cell). This fusion combines the lymphocyte's ability to produce a desired antibody with the tumor cell's capacity for indefinite, rapid growth. Hybridomas are used as factories to culture and harvest large quantities of identical antibodies, known as monoclonal antibodies.

Usage Examples

• The research team created a hybridoma to produce antibodies against the new virus.
• Isolating the specific hybridoma from the culture was a critical step in the experiment.
• Monoclonal antibodies for therapeutic use are typically manufactured using hybridoma technology.

Advanced Usage

• Hybridoma technology refers to the entire methodology of producing monoclonal antibodies via the creation and cultivation of hybridomas.
  • Hybridoma technology revolutionized biomedical research and diagnostics.
• A hybridoma cell line is a permanently established culture of a specific hybridoma clone.
  • The laboratory maintains the valuable hybridoma cell line in liquid nitrogen.

Variants and Related Words

• Hybrid (noun/adjective): Something formed by combining two different elements. The "hybrid-" in hybridoma comes from this root.
• Monoclonal antibody (noun): The identical antibody molecules produced by a single clone of hybridoma cells.
• Myeloma (noun): The type of cancerous tumor cell (specifically a plasma cell cancer) used in the fusion to create a hybridoma.

Synonyms

• Fused cell (This is a more general, descriptive term but lacks the specific technical meaning of hybridoma.)
• Antibody-producing hybrid cell (A descriptive phrase, not a single-word synonym.)

Notes on Meaning

The term hybridoma has a single, precise meaning in immunology and biotechnology. It refers specifically to the cell hybrid, not to the antibodies it produces. The power of a hybridoma lies in its immortality (from the cancer cell) and its specific antibody secretion (from the lymphocyte).

Noun

1. a hybrid cell resulting from the fusion of a lymphocyte and a tumor cell; used to culture a specific monoclonal antibody