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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #74986
Title: CHARACTERIZATION OF A CHICKEN MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY THAT RECOGNIZES THE APICAL COMPLEX OF EIMERIA ACERVULINA SPOROZOITES

Author
item SASAI, KAZUMI - 1265-20-00
item Lillehoj, Hyun
item MATSUDA, HARUO - HIROSHIMA UNIV
item Wergin, William

Submitted to: Journal of Parasitology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/30/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Coccidiosis is an intestinal infection caused by several species of Eimeria parasites. The ability to vaccinate against coccidiosis will have a major impact on the poultry industry worldwide. One of the long term goals of the ARS Coccidiosis Control Program is to develop a recombinant coccidial vaccine. ARS scientists have developed a novel technology to produce chicken monoclonal antibodies which can detect coccidia antigens as explained in this paper. These antibodies will be used to identify potential vaccine antigens of coccidian parasites. Identification of coccidial proteins which are immunogenic for chickens should lead to the development of a recombinant coccidial vaccine and could save the industry from losses estimated at > $ 600 million.

Technical Abstract: A stable chicken hybridoma secreting a monoclonal antibody (mAb) that detects the apical complex of Eimeria acervulina sporozoites has been developed by fusing a thymidine kinase (TK)-deficient chicken myeloma with spleen cells from chickens immunized with sporozoite antigen. The mAb, designated as 6D-12-G10, recognized the apical complex of sporozoite of 20-21 kDa molecular mass on western blot. Immunoelectron microscopic examination revealed that mAb 6D-12-G10 stained the conoid antigen. Furthermore, mAb 6D-12- G10 inhibited the invasion of sporozoites into CD8+ T cells in vitro. These results suggest that the conoid may play an important role in the recognition and invasion of host cells by Eimeria sporozoites.