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Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, Sep 1996, 500-506, Vol 3, No. 5
Copyright © 1996 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Antibody responses against the G and F proteins of bovine respiratory syncytial virus after experimental and natural infections

RS Schrijver, JP Langedijk, WH van der Poel, WG Middel, JA Kramps and JT van Oirschot
Department of Bovine Virology, Institute for Animal Science and Health (ID-DLO), Lelystad, The Netherlands.

Antibodies against the two major surface glycoproteins of bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV), G and F, play a role in protection against BRSV-associated disease, but only the antibody response against the F protein has been well described. Therefore, we used a novel peptide-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (G peptide-ELISA) to compare immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgG subclass antibody responses against the G protein with the antibody response against the F protein, as measured by a conventional BRSV ELISA (F-ELISA). Experimental infection of cattle induced significantly lower antibody titers than did natural infection. After natural primary infection, G peptide- specific antibodies declined more rapidly and to lower levels than the F protein-specific antibodies. As a consequence, the G peptide-ELISA detected more reinfections than did the F-ELISA. Ratios of G- and F- specific IgG1/IgG2 antibody titers did not differ markedly after infection or vaccination. Interestingly, after natural infection calves did not develop an IgG2 response to the complete G protein. In contrast, adult cattle had high IgG2 titers against this protein. Vaccination with a live vaccine induced low antibody titers, similar to the titers after experimental infection, whereas vaccination with an inactivated vaccine induced high titers. The results indicate that the kinetics of the G- and F-specific antibody responses differ. Furthermore, the IgG subclass response against the unglycosylated central region of the G protein is similar to the IgG subclass response to the F protein, but the IgG subclass response differs from the response to the complete G protein.