Update on development of monoclonal antibodies for use in clinical flow cytometry and research in dogs

Since the First International Canine Leukocyte Antigen Workshop in 1994, individual laboratories have worked to expand the repertoire of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) used in clinical testing and research in dogs. Here, we employed flow cytometry to document the specificity of mAbs submitted to the canine workshop and the animal homologue section of the human HLDA8 international workshop. We also provide an initial characterization of new mAbs derived from hybridomas developed from mice immunized with leukocytes from the blood of a healthy dog and from mice immunized with cells from a dog with B-cell leukemia. These mAbs enhance the tools available for characterizing leukemias, lymphomas, and other hematologic disorders in dogs, as well as for researching the canine immune response to pathogens. Importantly, some of the mAbs submitted to the canine and HLDA8 workshop recognize highly conserved epitopes expressed on orthologues of cluster of differentiation molecules first identified in humans and present an opportunity to develop a cross-species panel for clinical testing and research.