title: Expression cloning and humoral immune response to the nucleocapsid and membrane proteins of equine arteritis virus.
abstract: To provide a convenient and sensitive method for the detection of equine arteritis virus (EAV)-specific serum antibodies, we developed an immunoblot assay employing the EAV nucleocapsid (N) and membrane (M) proteins expressed in a procaryotic expression vector (pMAL-c2) for the production of recombinant maltose-binding (MBP) fusion proteins (MBP-N and MBP-M). The antigenic reactivity of the recombinant fusion proteins and their Xa factor cleavage EAV products was confirmed by immunoblot using horse antisera to EAV. Some horse sera, however, showed immune reactivity to the MBP fusion partner protein. Based on a total of 32 horse sera analyzed for the presence of EAV antibodies by immunoblot, using the MBP-N or -M fusion proteins and the Xa factor cleavage EAV products, and in the serum neutralization test, there was 100% concordance between the assays. Sera from horses experimentally infected with EAV were reactive in the immunoblot test with both the MBP-N and the MBP-M fusion proteins by day 14 after EAV exposure. The reactivity continued to the end of the experiment at day 145 after infection. This immune reactivity correlated with the detection of neutralizing antibodies in the serum samples. Based on these findings, the recombinant N and M proteins might be useful for serodetection of EAV-infected animals.
authors.affiliation: Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kheyar
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: St-Laurent
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Timoney
authors.forename: W H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: McCollum
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Archambault
mesh_terms: D018528:ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters; D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D000917:Antibody Formation / Q000187:drug effects; D018174:Arterivirus Infections / Q000662:veterinary*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D007240:Equartevirus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D015870:Gene Expression; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D006736:Horses; D007700:Kinetics; D058619:Maltose-Binding Proteins; D009004:Monosaccharide Transport Proteins; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D014760:Viral Fusion Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D018528:ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters; D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D058619:Maltose-Binding Proteins; D009004:Monosaccharide Transport Proteins; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins; D014760:Viral Fusion Proteins; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins; C461599:maltose transport system, E coli