Mishell–Dutton culture

Mishell–Dutton culture (also called the Mishell–Dutton technique) is an in-vitro primary antibody response system using dissociated mouse spleen cells. First reported in 1966–1967 by Robert I. Mishell and Richard W. Dutton, it enabled reliable in-vitro immunization and enumeration of antibody-forming cells via plaque-forming cell (PFC) assays, facilitating studies of B–T cell cooperation and accessory cell requirements.^[1][2]

Background

The culture's quantitative readout relied on single-cell antibody detection methods: the PFC assay of Jerne and Nordin and later refinements by Cunningham and Szenberg.^[3][4]

Methods manual

A widely used bench manual that compiled many related procedures is Selected Methods in Cellular Immunology (1980), edited by Barbara B. Mishell and Stanley M. Shiigi.^[5]

Impact

The system was central to dissecting cellular cooperation in primary antibody responses, including evidence for two-cell requirements and antigen-presenting cell–dependent clustering in vitro.^[6][7] Subsequent optimizations—notably the addition of 2-mercaptoethanol to culture media—further enhanced response magnitude and reproducibility.^[8]

See also

• Plaque-forming cell assay
• Handbook of Experimental Immunology
• Current Protocols in Immunology