HYBRIDOMA SCREENING FOR CELL-ADHESION MOLECULES USING MULTIPLE PARALLEL COMPARISONS IN CONDITIONS OF FLOW

Cell adhesion is a complex biophysical process that plays a central ro le in immunophysiology. Because of the complex force-energy relationsh ips involved, insights into the mechanism of cell adhesion largely dep end on comparative measurements, In this report, we describe a compara tive approach to the measurement of cell adhesion under conditions of flow, The assay system perfuses fluorescently labeled lymphocytes over a cell monolayer in commercially available multiwell culture plates. The fluorescently labeled cells demonstrate a reproducible flow patter n within the well, Videomicroscopic recordings of cell movement have d emonstrated rolling behavior over a wide range of cell velocities, Thi s technique permits the measurement of cell adhesion over a variety of flow velocities, time courses, and treatment conditions, The ability to vary treatment conditions and provide multiple parallel conditions suggests the utility of this approach in the development of monoclonal antibodies (MAb) recognizing cell adhesion molecules.