Equine monoclonal antibodies recognize common epitopes on variants of equine infectious anaemia virus

Equine-murine xenohybridoma cells were produced using SP2/0 murine myeloma cells and splenic lymph node cells obtained from horses infected with 10(6) TCID50 of single cloned variants of equine infectious anaemia virus (EIAV). The xenohybridomas secreted equine IgG monoclonal antibodies reactive with EIAV in enzyme immunoassays employing purified virus. Seven antibodies were studied in detail. They bound to viral glycoproteins (gp90 or gp45) in radioimmunoprecipitation assays, and reacted with homologous EIAV as well as five other cloned variants of EIAV. When evaluated against a single cloned variant of EIAV (EIAV-WSU5), two antibodies bound to different epitopes on gp90. The five remaining antibodies reacted with the same or overlapping epitopes on gp45. None of the antibodies exhibited viral neutralizing activity.