Analysis of immune responses in the sheep to synthetic peptides of foot-and-mouth disease virus using ovine polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies.
A 40-residue peptide incorporating residues 200-213 and 141-158 of foot-and-mouth disease virus VP1 capsid protein strain O1 Kaufbeuren was injected uncoupled into sheep, and the immune responses analysed. Direct-binding and inhibition experiments showed that the polyclonal antibody response was directed mainly against epitopes unique to the 40-residue peptide but absent from the constituent peptides containing residues 200-213 or 141-158, respectively. Further confirmation of the presence of unique epitopes on the 40-residue peptide was obtained from similar experiments performed with sheep monoclonal antibodies generated through the use of an aminopterin-sensitive sheep/mouse heterohybridoma cell line as a fusion partner. The sheep polyclonal antisera to the 40-residue peptide had high neutralization titres and were fully active in a mouse protection assay, whereas none of the sheep monoclonal antibodies conferred protection. The results suggest that the conformation of the 40-residue peptide is important for its ability to induce neutralizing antibodies.
Department of Veterinary Pathology, University of Edinburgh.
J N
JN
Flynn
G D
GD
Harkiss
T
T
Doel
R
R
DiMarchi
D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000096:biosynthesis; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000096:biosynthesis; D000918:Antibody Specificity / Q000276:immunology; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology*; D005537:Aphthovirus / Q000276:immunology*; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D000939:Epitopes / Q000276:immunology*; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000276:immunology*; D012756:Sheep / Q000276:immunology*
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D000939:Epitopes; D010446:Peptide Fragments