Monoclonal antibody defines determinant between Theiler's virus and lipid-like structures

Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus is known to cause a chronic demyelinating disease in mice. The contributions of immunologic factors, i.e. humoral and cellular responses to virus and/or myelin components, and direct virus-cell interactions leading to demyelination are still unclear. One important factor could be antibody initiation of myelin destruction. Here we describe four monoclonal antibodies that react with Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus. Three of these neutralize the virus and one of these three could also bind to various lipid-like structures including galactocerebroside, a myelin component. Further, this monoclonal antibody reacted with oligodendrocyte-like cells in vitro. All four monoclonal antibodies reacted with VP-1 by Western blot analysis. Thus, an immune response generated by virus that cross-reacts with a myelin element such as galactocerebroside could play a role in directing autoimmune processes toward myelin destruction.