Egg yolk antibodies against the E7 oncogenic protein of human papillomavirus type 16.

The E7 oncoprotein is the major transforming protein of Human Papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) and the most abundant in cervical neoplasia. In this study we report the production of polyclonal antibodies to HPV16 E7 in rabbits and hens. The produced antibodies recognised the denatured and native form of HPV16 E7 protein by Western Blot, and immunoprecipitation. Epitope mapping demonstrated that hen antibodies reacted with a greater number of antigen determinants than the rabbit antibodies. In immunocytochemistry only hen antibodies were able to localize the E7 protein in a HPV positive cell line and in the high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, suggesting their possible usefulness in the screening of clinical samples.