monoclonal antibody

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monoclonal antibody A particular antibody produced by a cell that is one of many identical cells each of which is a clone of a single parent cell (i.e. each cell is monoclonal). The parent cell is formed by fusing a cell that produces the desired antibody (a lymphocyte) with a cell taken from a malignant lympoid tumour in a mouse, yielding a hybrid that multiplies rapidly.

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