ANTIGENIC ANALYSIS OF TICK-BORNE ENCEPHALITIS COMPLEX VIRUSES BY TIME-RESOLVED FLUOROIMMUNOASSAY WITH MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODIES

The antigenic structure of 5 strains of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus and 7 other viruses of the TBE complex was examined by the highly sensitive and specific technique of time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay (TR-FIA). A collection of 8 monoclonal antibodies to the Austrian strain, Neudorf1, was used in this study. The findings demonstrate the uniformity of the antigenic structure of TBE viruses from different geographic regions of the USSR. In addition, an epitope was detected which is characteristic of western variants of TBE virus, and another epitope was detected which permits the differentiation of the east-Siberian strain, Aina, from other TBE virus strains. The unique nature of Skalica virus was confirmed, and its similarity, but not identity, to Langat TP-21 virus was shown. Substantial variability in the antigenic structure of some TBE complex viruses was also demonstrated.