A MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY TO ICP4 OF MDV RECOGNIZING ICP4 OF SEROTYPE 1 AND 3 MDV STRAINS

Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were prepared against ICP4 of Marek’s disease virus (MDV). Mice were inoculated with ICP4 obtained from High-Five insect cells infected with a recombinant baculovirus expressing ICP4. MAbs were selected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using MDV-infected and control chick kidney cells as antigens. One of the MAbs, 5H8, recognized an epitope toward the carboxyl terminus of ICP4 based on staining of reticuloendotheliosis virustransformed cells transfected with full-length and truncated ICP4 constructs. This MAb recognized ICP4 in chicken embryo fibroblasts (CEFs) infected with MDV strains JM16 and HVT but not with SB-1 strain. Using Western blot analysis a protein of 155 kDa was detected in CEFs infected with JM16 and HVT strains.