The protective role of humoral neutralizing antibody in the NIH potency test for rabies vaccines.

Intraperitoneal vaccination of mice with rabies vaccine results in both dosage-dependent rabies virus neutralizing antibody titres and protection from lethal intracerebral (i.c.) challenge with fixed strain CVS rabies virus. Pre-exposure adoptive intravenous transfer of naive or immune cells did not significantly protect naive Balb/c mice from lethal i.c. CVS challenge, but immune serum and anti-rabies glycoprotein monoclonal antibodies (individually and in combination) did confer significant protection when administered before or up to 24 h after lethal i.c. rabies virus challenge.