CHICKEN MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODIES AGAINST SYNTHETIC BOVINE PRION PROTEIN PEPTIDE

Chicken monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were developed against bovine pri on protein (PrP) peptide. Chickens immunized with bovine PrP peptide B 204 (amino acid residues 204-220) coupled to keyhole limpet hemocyanin produced specific antibodies to the peptide as determined by an enzym e-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using the B204 peptide coupled to ovalbumin as target antigen. From a fusion experiment using the chick en fusion partner cell line MuHI and immune spleen cells, 19 mAbs reac tive with B204 were generated. These mAbs were subdivided into five gr oups based on competitive ELISA using B204 and four 10-amino acid pept ides. These five groups included all combinations expected based on co mparison of amino acid sequences among the five species, bovine, mouse , human, sheep and hamster, examined. These results indicate that the chicken mAb system is a suitable technique for immunological analysis of PrP in mammals.