A myristylated membrane protein encoded by the vaccinia virus L1R open reading frame is the target of potent neutralizing monoclonal antibodies.

We identified a protein component of the intracellular mature vaccinia virion membrane that is a target of a potent neutralizing monoclonal antibody, 7D11, obtained from Alan L Schmaljohn. By immunofluorescent and electron microscopic analysis, MAb 7D11 was found to stain intracytoplasmic viral factories, virion membranes in cell sections, and the surface of negatively stained preparations of purified virions. The MAb 7D11 antigen, which is synthesized at late times in infection, has apparent molecular masses of 25 and 29 kDa under nonreducing and reducing conditions, respectively. The membrane antigen was most efficiently extracted from virions by NP40 detergent in combination with a reducing agent; in addition, the protein partitioned exclusively into the detergent phase when extracted with Triton X-114. Although the N-terminus of the immunoaffinity-purified protein was blocked, sequence analysis of trypic peptides revealed that the MAb 7D11 antigen was identical to the myristylated protein encoded by the L1R open reading frame previously described by C.A. Franke, E.M. Wilson, and D.E. Hruby (1990, J. Virol. 64, 5988-5996). Validation of this genetic assignment was provided by the ability of MAb 7D11 to immunoprecipitate a [3H]myristic acid-labeled product of the expected molecular weight from infected cells. In addition, we discovered that the previously described neutralizing monoclonal antibody 2D5 (Y. Ichihashi, T. Takahashi, and M. Oie, 1994, Virology 202, 834-843) also recognizes the L1R protein.