DEVELOPMENT OF AN ELISA TEST FOR ANTIBODIES TO HUMAN B-LYMPHOTROPHIC VIRUS

NIH RESEARCHERS HAVE RECENTLY ANNOUNCED THE ISOLATION OF A HUMAN B-LYMPHOTROPIC VIRUS (HBLV) FROM SIX INDIVIDUALS WITH VARIOUS LYMPHOPROLIFERATIVE AND IMMUNE DISORDERS. HBLV APPEARS TO BELONG TO THE GROUP OF HUMAN HERPES VIRUSES AND MAY BE ASSOCIATED WITH B LYMPHOPROLIFERATIVE DISORDERS. EARLY SEROLOGICAL TESTS USING INDIRECT IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE METHODS REVEALED THAT ONLY 4 OF 220 RANDOM, HEALTHY BLOOD DONORS WERE SEROPOSITIVE FOR HBLV ANTIBODIES. MORE RECENT REPORTS STATE THAT THE PREVALENCE OF HBLV INFECTION MAY BE HIGHER. AN ELISA-BASED ASSAY FOR HBLV ANTIBODY DETECTION WOULD FACILITATE FURTHER STUDY OF THE PREVALENCE OF INFECTION WITH THIS VIRUS AND THE RELATION OF INFECTION TO HUMAN DISEASE. HBLV HAS BEEN SEEN TO BE INFECTIOUS IN SEVERAL CELL LINES ASWELL AS IN FRESH B LYMPHOCYTES. IN THIS PROPOSAL, BIOTECH RESEARCH LABORATORIES, INC. PRESENTS ITS PLAN FOR USING HBLVCULTURED IN THE HSB-2 CELL LINE TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING AN ELISA-BASED TEST KIT FOR HBLV ANTIBODY DETECTION.