Monoclonal antibodies specific to and cross-reactive with Marek's disease virus and herpesvirus of turkeys.

In order to identify the specific and cross-reactive antigens to Marek's disease virus (MDV) and herpesvirus of turkeys (HVT), we prepared hybridomas producing monoclonal antibodies against these viruses. These monoclonal antibodies were screened by the indirect immunofluorescence method. The purified virus-specific antigens appeared to be more effective immunogens than unpurified virus-infected cell homogenates. Totals of 50 and 14 hybridoma clones were found to produce antibodies specific to MDV and HVT, respectively. Of these, 14 MDV clones and 5 HVT clones produced antibodies that recognized antigenic sites common to both viruses.