Inhibition of turkey herpesvirus replication by anti-cellular serum

Quail embryo fibroblasts were used to investigate how rabbit and chicken antisera against chicken erythrocytes carrying different B alleles of the major histocompatibility antigens affect the neutralization of herpesvirus of turkeys (HVT). Although the neutralizing activities of these antisera were rather low, the HVT propagated in chicken embryo fibroblasts (CEF) from certain genotypic embryos was neutralized more by the antisera to the corresponding erythrocytes. After absorption of these antisera with homologous erythrocytes, the neutralizing activity of the absorbed sera was reduced slightly. These results reveal that the virion antigens of HVT might be partially associated with the host cell antigens of the fibroblast infected with the virus. The virus grown in these cells might incorporate the host cell antigens, including histocompatibility antigens, into the virion envelope.