CHARACTERIZATION OF VIRUS-SPECIFIC AND CROSS-REACTIVE MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODIES TO HERPESVIRUS-SIMIAE (B-VIRUS)

A panel of 13 monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) was produced that detect B virus (BV) proteins. Several of these MAbs were highly specific for BV , while the remainder cross-reacted in varying deg rees with the other primate alphaherpesviruses. Utilizing western blot and radioimmunopre cipitation analysis, the MAbs were found to detect at least four disti nct BV-infected cell antigens, several of which were composed of multi ple polypeptides. One target antigen has been identified as the BV gly coprotein B (gB) homologue and was recognized by both virus-specific a nd cross-reactive MAbs. Although gB is an essential protein, none of t he anti-gB MAbs neutralized infectious virus.