Production of equine herpesvirus 1 recombinant glycoprotein D and development of an agar gel immunodiffusion test for serological diagnosis

Abstract

Equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) and Equine herpesvirus 4 (EHV-4) are ubiquitous herpesviruses that infect most of the world's horses at some time during their lives, causing respiratory disease, abortion and neurological disorders (Allen and Bryans, 1986). After the initial lytic phase of infection in the equine respiratory tract, EHV-1 and EHV-4 enter a latent state in both circulating lymphocytes and lymphocytes in draining lymph nodes, as well as in sensory nerve-cell bodies within the trigeminal ganglia. Recurrent shedding of the virus from asymptomatic carriers may spread the disease in the equine population (Baxi et al., 1996). Several studies have identified glycoproteins B, C, and D (gB, gC and gD, respectively) as the immunodominant antigens that generate antiviral serological responses to EHV-1 and EHV-4 in infected horses (Allen et al., 1992). EHV-1 and EHV-4.