Production and characterization of monoclonal antibodies against an avian influenza virus (H9N2)

In this report, fifteen monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against an avian influenza virus (H9N2 subtype) were newly produced and characterized. These MAbs proved to react to the epitopes of nucleocapsid protein (NP), hemagglutinin (HA), neuraminidase (NA) and non-structural protein 1 (NS1) of Korean H9N2 strain, respectively. Two HA-specific MAbs showed the ability to inhibit the hemagglutination activity of H9N2 subtype avian influenza virus when tested by hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay. All MAbs did not cross-react with other avian-origin viruses (Newcastle disease virus, infectious bursal disease virus, infectious bronchitis virus and avian rotavirus) by immunofluorescence test or enzyme- linked immunosorbent assay. The MAbs produced in this study could be useful as the materials for diagnostics and therapeutics against Korean-lineage H9N2 virus infections.