Fusing a plasma cell with a tumor cell creates ______ that are used to produce__________.

Fusing a plasma cell with a tumor cell creates ______ that are used to produce__________.

• A. polyclonal antibodies; vaccines
• B. myelomas; hybridomas
• C. hybridomas; monoclonal antibodies
• D. cell cultures; immunoassay agents

Answer: (C)

The key idea is hybridoma technology: fusing a specific antibody-producing plasma cell with an immortal myeloma cell creates a hybridoma, a cell line that can both divide indefinitely and secrete a single type of antibody. Because the hybridoma comes from one B cell clone, the antibodies it produces are monoclonal—identical in specificity. This is why the correct pairing is hybridomas to monoclonal antibodies. The other options don’t fit because polyclonal antibodies come from many B cell clones, vaccines aren’t produced by this fusion, and the end product is not the myeloma itself or a general cell culture or immunoassay agent.

The key idea is hybridoma technology: fusing a specific antibody-producing plasma cell with an immortal myeloma cell creates a hybridoma, a cell line that can both divide indefinitely and secrete a single type of antibody. Because the hybridoma comes from one B cell clone, the antibodies it produces are monoclonal—identical in specificity. This is why the correct pairing is hybridomas to monoclonal antibodies. The other options don’t fit because polyclonal antibodies come from many B cell clones, vaccines aren’t produced by this fusion, and the end product is not the myeloma itself or a general cell culture or immunoassay agent.