Why are female mice used forhybidoma production? - (Oct/14/2000 )

All protocols I have found for hybidoma production start with female Balb/c mice. The Balb/cI understand is required to prevent rejection if an ascites step is used, but why female mice?We are planning some experiments with knockout mice and it would be great to know if thereare hazards in trying to also use male mice. Everyone uses female mice only but no one Ihave asked knows why.

The answer has simple: male BALB/c fight and kill each other. Females co-habitate well and for long-term immunization studies, you simple cannot use male mice.

very intersting fact!

Yeah, interesting fact. Plus, females have the advantage of being less smelly than the male mice - in my opinion.

Moreover,
if u want to check titers of antibody after immunization, u donot need to fight with female mice but with males.
this situation is even more difficult when u have 10 or more mice to be bled through tail vein.

Once in the past, our lab used only balb males, the responsible Ph.D(she) could not handle them (around 20 mice).
i have got to do the titer check once in every two weeks.
at the end i become a dectator of MALE BALB/c AND got great fight-handling experience . coz those mice were really of high priority.
so no choice.....