Biological functions of monospecific antibodies to envelope glycoproteins of Newcastle disease virus

Abstract

Monospecific antisera to HN and F glycoproteins of Newcastle disease virus were prepared, and their effects on the biological activities of the virus were investigated. Anti-HN serum inhibited hemagglutinating and neuraminidase activity, as well as hemolysis. Anti-F serum had no effect on hemagglutination or neuraminidase but inhibited hemolysis and virus-induced cell fusion. Anti-HN serum was highly neutralizing, while neutralization by anti-F serum was very inefficient in conventional plaque reduction tests, although both sera were estimated to contain comparable amounts of antibody reacting with the virus as indicated by complement fixation and immuno-diffusion tests. The neutralizing activity of anti-F serum was greatly enhanced by the addition of anti-IgG serum or fresh guinea pig serum, whereas that of anti-HN serum was little enhanced. Anti-HN serum incorporated in the agar overlay suppressed the development of plaques to some degree, while anti-F serum had little effect. The combination of anti-HN and anti-F sera resulted in a marked decrease in the number and size of plaques, demonstrating the synergistic effect of the two species of antibody in the containment of the spread of viral infection.