MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES TO BOVINE VIRAL DIARRHEA VIRUS ENCODED PROTEINS

BOVINE VIRAL DIARRHEA VIRUS (BVDV) IS A VERY IMPORTANT BOVINE DISEASE AGENT, HAVING CONSIDERABLE ECONOMIC IMPACT ONCATTLE PRODUCERS DIRECTLY AND THE BIOLOGICS INDUSTRY VIA PRODUCT CONTAMINATION. CURRENT CONTROL AND DETECTION METHODS ARE INADEQUATE, AS IS THE BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF THEVIRUS, ITS BIOLOGY, AND ITS PATHOGENESIS. MOLECULAR GENETICS, INC. PROPOSES IN THIS PHASE I WORK TO GENERATE MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES (MABS) TO BVDV-ENCODED PROTEINS. THISWILL EMPLOY BACTERIALLY PRODUCED FUSION POLYPEPTIDES POSSESSING BVDV-SPECIFIC SEQUENCES AS IMMUNOGENS. THESE POLYPEPTIDES WILL BE PURIFIED FROM BACTERIA (E. COLI) HARBORING EXPRESSION PLASMIDS IN WHICH PORTIONS OF THE MOLECULARLY CLONED BVDV GENOME HAVE BEEN INSERTED AND ENGINEERED FOR EXPRESSION. FOUR IMMUNOGEN POLYPEPTIDES, REPRESENTING FOUR DISTINCT (UNRELATED) VIRUS-ENCODED PROTEINS WILL BE USED. MOUSE IMMUNIZATIONS AND CELL FUSIONSWILL BE CARRIED OUT BY STANDARD PROCEDURES. SEVERAL SCREENING METHODS TO DETECT HYBRIDOMA CELLS PRODUCING BVDV-SPECIFIC MABS WILL BE EVALUATED. THEY EXPECT TO GENERATE FOUR INDIVIDUAL SERIES OF MABS REACTIVE WITH AT LEAST FOUR AUTHENTIC BVDV PROTEINS. THESE MABS WILL BE INVALUABLE TOOLS FOR BASIC STUDIES ON VIRUS STRUCTURE, PROTEIN FUNCTION, ANTIGENIC COMPOSITION, REPLICATION, AND PATHOGENESIS, AND WILL HAVE POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS AS DIAGNOSTIC AND THERAPEUTIC AIDS FOR THE VETERINARIAN AND CATTLE PRODUCER.