Identification of four distinct neutralizing epitopes on bluetongue virus serotype 10 using neutralizing monoclonal antibodies and neutralization-escape variants.

Neutralizing sites on bluetongue virus serotype 10 (BTV-10) were investigated with a panel of seven neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). Each MAb was coupled to agarose beads and tested against the other MAbs and a nonneutralizing control MAb in a competitive immueprecipitation assay. In addition, neutralization-escape viral variants of BTV-10 were identified and cloned by selecting individual plaques that formed in the presence of neutralizing MAbs. Four antigenic variants were isolated, each under the selective pressure of a different MAb. Parental BTV-10 and the four antigenic variants were compared by microneutralization assay using the MAb panel. The panel of neutralizing MAbs was subdivided into four groups on the basis of these assays, indicating that at least four distinct neutralizing epitopes exist on the BTV-10 virion. These epitopes are individually defined by representative MAbs 034, 039, 041, and 045, and the results indicate that the four epitopes are interacting sites within a single antigenic domain on BTV-10 outer capsid protein VP2. This conclusion is further supported by the fact that a double-site neutralization-escape variant designated DE34/39 (sequentially produced against MAbs 034 and 039) was not neutralized by any MAb of the panel.