EVIDENCE FOR INVOLVEMENT OF EQUINE HERPESVIRUS-1 GLYCOPROTEIN-B IN CELL-CELL FUSION

Monoclonal antibodies specific for equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) glycop roteins (gB, gD, gp2 and a cleaved translation product of gene 71) wer e tested for ability to inhibit cell-cell fusion as measured by syncyt ium formation in EHV-1 infected cell cultures. Syncytium formation was inhibited by a complement-dependent neutralising antibody (7B10) whic h recognised the large subunit of EHV-1 gB. This indicated that EHV-1 gB, in common with gB homologues of herpes simplex virus and other her pesviruses, plays a role in the cell-cell fusion process.