Characterization of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies to bovine enteric coronavirus: establishment of an efficient ELISA for antigen detection in feces.

Monoclonal antibodies to bovine enteric coronavirus (BEC) were produced. Additionally, polyclonal antibodies were made in rabbits and guinea pigs and extracted from the yolk of immunized hens. The antibodies were characterized by neutralization test, hemagglutination inhibition test, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunoblotting. Neutralizing antibody titers of polyclonal antisera ranged from 1:1280 to 1:40,000. Only one out of 908 hybridoma colonies tested secreted antibodies with neutralizing activity. By ELISA, polyclonal sera exhibited high background reactions that could be significantly reduced by treatment with kaolin in the case of rabbit sera. Attempts to establish an ELISA for BEC antigen detection based on polyclonal sera failed due to low sensitivity and specificity. Optimal results were achieved when a mixture of two monoclonal antibodies was coated onto microplates for antigen capture, while rabbit hyperimmune serum served as detecting antibodies in an indirect assay. The combination of the two monoclonal antibodies did not increase sensitivity synergistically, but in a compensatory fashion, probably because of epitope differences between BEC field strains.