Screening and identification of LSDV-specific monoclonal antibodies to establish a double-antibody sandwich ELISA for distinguishing LSDV from SPPV and GTPV.

Lumpy skin disease caused by the lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) infection causes significant economic losses to the cattle industry in many countries worldwide. The genetic homology between LSDV and both goat pox virus (GTPV) and sheep pox virus (SPPV) can reach around 97 %, indicating a high level of serological similarity. This serological resemblance makes it difficult to differentiate between LSD and GTP or SPP via serological methods, which significantly challenges the detection and diagnosis of LSD. For the serological differential diagnosis of LSDV, we prepared and identified two LSDV-specific monoclonal antibodies 3C10 and 6H3. The results showed that both monoclonal antibodies targeted the P32 protein of LSDV. A double-antibody sandwich ELISA was established based on the LSDV monoclonal antibodies 3C10 and 6H3-HRP, which have good sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing LSDV and do not cross-react with many common viruses in cattle and sheep, including GTPV and SPPV. To summarize, LSDV-specific monoclonal antibodies that can distinguish LSDV from GTPV and SPPV were developed and can be used for the differential diagnosis of LSD and to study the pathogenic mechanism of the virus.