Mapping of 10 epitopes on bovine herpesvirus type 1 glycoproteins gI and gIII.

In order to map some of the immunologically important sites on bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BHV-1), deleted, truncated, and hybrid forms of glycoproteins gI and gIII were expressed in transfected murine LMTK- cells. The cells were tested for reactivity with a panel of 16 gI- or gIII-specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) possessing conformation-independent antigen binding properties. This panel represented five epitopes on gI and five epitopes on gIII. For gI, two epitopes were mapped between residues 68 and 119, one epitope was mapped between residues 370 and 440, one epitope was mapped to the vicinity of residue 487, and one epitope was mapped between residues 744 and 763. For gIII, three epitopes were mapped between residues 22 and 150, one epitope was mapped between residues 140 and 240, and one epitope was mapped between residues 230 and 287. The location of the gI epitope in the vicinity of residue 487, which was recognized by a virus-neutralizing MAb, was verified by synthetic peptide binding studies. The epitope locations were consistent with proposed models for the structure of gI and gIII, and comparable to some of the epitope locations reported for the homologous glycoproteins of herpes simplex virus type 1. The implications of these results for development of a subunit vaccine against BHV-1 are discussed.