INHIBITION OF CELL-FUSION BY NEUTRALIZING MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODIES TO F1PROTEIN OF TURKEY RHINOTRACHEITIS VIRUS

Two monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) with neutralizing activities directed to the fusion (F) 1 glycoprotein of the 8597/CV94 strain of turkey rh inotracheitis (TRT) virus inhibited cell fusion by TRT virus in vitro. In contrast, F1-specific mAbs with no neutralizing activity did not i nhibit the cell fusion participating in syncytium formation. These fin dings indicate that the neutralization epitope is the same as or overl aps the fusion active site.