Hybrid cell line

A hybrid cell line is a fusion of cells from two different cell types. When the membrane of two cells merge, the nuclei combine to form a polykaryote (poly- multiple; karyon- chromosome). These fusions can happen spontaneously as in the case of tumor hybrid cells, or may be induced by a variety of laboratory techniques.

The first instance of intentionally generated hybrid cells was described in 1960 by Barski, Sorieul, and Cornefert in their paper "Production of cells of a 'hybrid' nature in cultures in vitro of 2 cellular strains in combination," originally published in French. Today, one purpose of generating hybrid cell lines is to fuse cells that secrete a useful product with an immortal cell line to maximize the secretions. For example, immunoglobin-producing B lymphocytes can be fused with myeloma to produce an immortal line of cells called hybridoma that secrete immunoglobin. Hybrid cell lines are also used to study cancer and map genes