R. Ghildyal et al., Expression and characterisation of the ovine respiratory syncytial virus (ORSV) G protein for use as a diagnostic reagent, VET RES, 30(5), 1999, pp. 475-482
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes severe lower respiratory tract inf
ection in children and calves. Antibodies to ovine RSV (ORSV) are common in
sheep, but the clinical disease is not well defined. There is no report of
ORSV infection in Australian sheep although respiratory distress syndrome
has been described. This discrepancy may be due to the lack of a suitable d
iagnostic test. In this report, we have characterised the ORSV G protein in
an attempt to study its relatedness to human and bovine RSV (HRSV, BRSV) a
nd for use in the development of a suitable diagnostic assay. Full length a
nd a truncated variant of ORSV G protein were expressed in mammalian cells
and the expressed proteins characterised by indirect immunofluorescence and
radioimmunoprecipitation assays. Our results indicate that like HRSV, the
ORSV G protein is heavily glycosylated. The expressed protein was membrane
bound as well as secreted and could be purified from culture supernatants a
nd may be suitable for use in development of a diagnostic assay. (C) Inra/E
lsevier, Paris.