Monoclonal antibodies to genus- and type-specific papillomavirus structural antigens.

Monoclonal antibodies against SDS-disrupted bovine papillomavirus type 1 (BPV1) were obtained from hybridomas prepared by fusing mouse myeloma cell line P3X63Ag8U1 with spleen cells from immunized BALB/c mice. Six hybridoma cell lines were obtained after testing supernatant fluids for positivity by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using the immunogen as antigen and by indirect immunofluorescence (IF) on frozen sections of BPV1-induced bovine fibropapillomas. Monoclonal antibodies (AU1-AU6) from these hybridomas were then tested for reactivity by IF tests on BPV2-induced fibropapillomas and on human plantar warts and vulvar condylomas and by avidin-biotin complex tests on sections of formalin-fixed cervical dysplasias. One monoclonal antibody (AU1) was reactive with all tissues, four (AU3-AU6) were reactive with both BPV1 and BPV2 fibropapillomas, and the remaining antibody (AU2) was only reactive with BPV1-induced fibropapillomas. All monoclonal antibodies reacted with the major capsid protein (mol. wt. 54,000) of BPV1, whereas five (AU1, AU3-AU6) reacted with the major capsid protein of BPV2. These results indicate that papillomavirus genus-specific, cross-reactive, and type-specific antigenic determinants are located on the major capsid protein of BPV1.