BACULOVIRUS-EXPRESSED 2C OF FOOT-AND-MOUTH-DISEASE VIRUS HAS THE POTENTIAL FOR DIFFERENTIATING CONVALESCENT FROM VACCINATED ANIMALS

Determining whether animals have been infected with foot-and-mouth dis ease virus or vaccinated is important because infected animals frequen tly become carriers of the virus, shed it intermittently and thus may be the source of new outbreaks of the disease. We had shown previously that the sera of convalescent animals contain antibodies to 2C, a hig hly conserved non-structural protein, whereas the sera of vaccinated a nimals do not. This is explained by the observation that 2C is retaine d on the membranes of cells used for growing the virus for vaccine pro duction. In contrast, the non-structural protein 3D, which is released into the medium, is not removed by centrifugation or filtration durin g vaccine production and therefore stimulates an immune response in bo th vaccinated and convalescent cattle. In this study we produced 2C an d 3D in insect cells infected with recombinant baculoviruses. As demon strated by serology and electron microscopy, 2C is also retained on th e membranes of the insect cells. Both expressed proteins react with se ra of convalescent animals, indicating that they are conformationally similar, but the 2C does not react with sera from vaccinated animals. The baculovirus expressed 2C appears to be a suitable antigen for the development of a reliable diagnostic test. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B .V.