Use of monoclonal antibodies prepared with Sabin vaccine viruses for the characterization of poliovirus strains isolated in Canada

Abstract

Eleven of 90 hybridomas that secreted neutralizing antibodies to various types of poliovirus, were cloned and their monoclonal antibodies tested for the intratypic differentiation of poliovirus isolates. All monoclonal antibodies (MAs) prepared with three types of Sabin vaccine viruses were specific with their homologous viruses but only one of three Saukett MAs was found suitable for intratypic serodifferentiation. A total of 112 poliovirus strains isolated from specimens of human or sewage origin in Canada from 1962 to 1981 were tested with these MAs. Approximately 90% of the virus isolates tested confirmed the findings previously obtained in the antigenic marker assays. Either pools or panels of individual MAs are suitable for the characterization of poliovirus isolates. Preliminary results of experiments conducted with pools of MAs and with single MAs added in various sequences, demonstrated that the location of the virus epitopes played an important role in the neutralization process.