Neutralizing and complement-fixing monoclonal antibodies as an aid to the diagnosis of equine herpesvirus-1 infection.

One complement-fixing (C-MAb) and three complement-dependent neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (N-MAbs) were raised against Hisar-90-7 equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) strain. The target antigen of the C-MAb (2A5) and two of the N-MAbs (1H6, 9C4) was identified as a 140 kDa polypeptide in Western blotting. The target antigen of N-MAb (9C6) could not be identified. Purified polypeptides of five EHV-1 strains isolated from different regions and at different times gave intense bands at 140 kDa when reacted with N-MAb (1H6) in Western blots. In sandwich ELISA, all four MAbs captured the viral antigen from clinical materials, giving a reliable and rapid diagnosis of EHV-1 infection in equines.