The primary purpose of this study was to devise a procedure in which a large number of monoclonal antibodies could be tested against several African swine fever virus (ASFV) preparations (virus, infected cells). The procedure had to be rapid, use a small sample and provide for some TEM.Monoclonal antibodies were produced by standard methods using myeloma cells and lymphocytes from mice immunized against ASF viral proteins. Antibodies were characterized by immunoprecipitation of radio-labelled viral proteins (Fig 1).The viral preparations used in this study were either infected macrophages, culture fluid supernatant from ASFV-infected macrophages or red blood cells from infected pigs. Each of the three viral preparations was tested by two indirect immune electron microscopy (IEM) methods; a grid method and a test tube method. In the grid method, formvar coated grids were floated on a viral preparation then for one hour each on the mouse monoclonal antibody and finally on ferritin tagged sheep anti-mouse IgG with washes between each step.
Chemical Structure of African Swine Fever Virus Investigated by Electron Microscopy
