Anti-idiotypic antibodies induce neutralizing antibodies to bovine herpesvirus 1.

A neutralizing murine monoclonal antibody (mAb) of the IgG2a isotype (MM-113), specific for bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1) glycoprotein gIV, was used to develop anti-idiotypic antibodies (anti-Id) in a calf. The bovine anti-Id were isolated from the serum of the immunized calf by affinity chromatography on an MM-113-Sepharose column, followed by repeated adsorption on a murine IgG2a column. The anti-Id thus obtained specifically reacted with MM-113, but not with isotype-matched controls. They also inhibited the binding of MM-113 to BHV-1 in a concentration-dependent manner. Mice immunized with the anti-Id produced neutralizing antibodies to BHV-1. The anti-Id bound to cells permissive to BHV-1 in a cell-binding radioimmunoassay (RIA).