Herpesvirus interference with virus-specific antibodies: bridging antibodies, internalizing antibodies, and hiding from antibodies.

Herpesviruses have developed different tools to thwart efficient antibody-dependent neutralisation and lysis of virions and elimination of infected cells. This overview will briefly summarize different of these tools, including (i) viral Fc receptors and the resulting process of antibody bridging, (ii) internalization of individual viral proteins and clustered antibody-antigen complexes from the plasma membrane of infected cells, and (iii) directed egress of virus particles to sites of intimate cell-cell contact that are difficult to access for antibodies.

Pseudorabies virus glycoprotein gD contains a functional endocytosis motif that acts in concert with an endocytosis motif in gB to drive internalization of antibody-antigen complexes from the surface of infected monocytes.

Viral glycoproteins gB and gD of the swine alphaherpesvirus pseudorabies virus (PRV), which is closely related to human herpes simplex virus and varicella-zoster virus, are able to drive internalization of antibody-antigen complexes that may form at the cell surface of infected monocytes, thereby protecting these cells from efficient antibody-mediated lysis. We found earlier that gB relies on an endocytosis motif in its cytoplasmic domain for its function during this internalization process. Here, we report that the PRV gD protein also contains a functional endocytosis motif (YRLL) in its cytoplasmic domain that drives spontaneous endocytosis of gD from the cell surface early in infection and that acts in concert with the endocytosis motif in gB to contribute to efficient internalization of antibody-antigen complexes in PRV-infected monocytes.

Characterization of changes in the short unique segment of pseudorabies virus BUK-TK900 (Suivac A) vaccine strain.

Mutant strains of pseudorabies virus (PRV) of reduced virulence, such as Bartha or BUK-TK900, have been used for vaccination purposes for many years. In contrast to the Bartha strain, BUK-TK900 has not been well characterised at the molecular level. The detailed analysis of this vaccine strain was urged by the fact of the isolation in Poland of field strains which were suspected to originate from BUK-TK900.

[Elution of glycoprotein from polyacrylamide gels].

The paper describes the procedure of efficient elution of glycoproteins from Immobilon membrane after their blotting from polyacrylamide gel. The yield of elution from membrane is 30-70%.

Differentiation of Aujeszky's disease virus strains isolated in Poland using DNA biotinylated probes.

The aim of this study was to compare 17 different Aujeszky's disease virus (ADV) isolates from clinical outbreaks of AD by using DNA biotinylated probes. All isolates were collected in Poland between 1984 and 1991. The restriction fragment pattern (RFP) analysis done by hybridization to NIA-3 DNA biotinylated probe indicated that all Polish ADV field strains can be classified as type I of Suid herpesvirus 1.