METHODS OF IDENTIFYING LYMPHOCYTES WITH MUTATOR PHENOTYPES

摘要

This invention provides methods for identifying lymphocytes with a mutatorphenotype by isolating lymphocytes bearing a selectable marker; identifyingamong the lymphocytes a population belonging to the same clonally amplifiedset; and determining whether the population has at least two lymphocyteshaving, between them, two independent mutations among different alleles at thegene locus of the selectable marker; the presence of which indicates a mutatorphenotype. In one embodiment of the invention, the selectable marker is hprt-.