Development of a peptide ELISA for discrimination between serological responses to equine herpesvirus type 1 and 4.
A peptide-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for discrimination between serological responses to equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) and 4 (EHV-4) was developed. Three and four peptides for EHV-1 and EHV-4, respectively, were designed and studied initially in the ELISA using sera from foals infected experimentally. The most promising peptide pair, derived from EHV-1 glycoprotein E and EHV-4 glycoprotein G, was evaluated further using acute and convalescent sera from horses infected experimentally and naturally as well as a panel of horse field sera. Ten pre- and post-vaccination serum pairs were similarly tested in the type-specific ELISA. The peptide ELISA was able to identify horses which had been infected with EHV-1 or EHV-4 as derived from the results using acute and convalescent sera collected from natural outbreaks. When applied to a set of field samples, the assay proved robust with respect to determining the EHV-1 and EHV-4 antibody status. Also, the peptide ELISA was able to detect type-specific seroconversion for EHV-1 in vaccinated animals. With further validation, the EHV-1/EHV-4 peptide ELISA described in this study could serve as a reliable and cost-effective alternative to current methods for serological EHV-1 and EHV-4 diagnosis.
Institut für Virologie, Zentrum für Infektionsmedizin, Robert von Ostertag-Haus, Freie Universität Berlin, Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7-13, 14163 Berlin, Germany.
Annemarie
A
Lang
Maren
M
de Vries
Silke
S
Feineis
Elisabeth
E
Müller
Nikolaus
N
Osterrieder
Armando M
AM
Damiani
D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D004861:Herpesvirus 1, Equid / Q000276:immunology*; D023141:Herpesvirus 4, Equid / Q000276:immunology*; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology*; D006736:Horses; D010455:Peptides; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012698:Serologic Tests / Q000379:methods
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D010455:Peptides
EHV-1; EHV-4; Peptide ELISA; Serology