CMV Glycoprotein B antibody – clone HCMV37

Mouse anti CMV glycoprotein B antibody, clone HCMV37, recognises a neutralising epitope on CMV glycoprotein B.

This antibody has been tested on recombinant CMV glycoprotein B produced by the Native Antigen Company, and shown to bind effectively to these in direct ELISA.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a species of the Cytomegalovirus genus of viruses, which in turn is a member of the viral family known as Herpesviridae or herpesviruses. Infection with CMV is very common, with estimates suggesting that 50-80% of the population in the UK have been infected at some point with CMV. Most cases of CMV infection are asymptomatic, but it can cause illness with symptoms similar to that of Flu or glandular fever.

A significant problem associated with CMV infection results from infection of a pregnant woman, who may then pass the virus on to her newborn child, leading to congenital CMV. A child with CMV infection may experience learning difficulties, and deafness.

Cytomegalovirus glycoprotein B is an important envelope protein of HCMV, acting as a receptor for entry of the virus into fibroblasts. This protein has been the target of vaccines designed to prevent HCMV infection by preventing entry into host cells. However, the HCMV pentameric complex also acts as a receptor for host-cell entry into epithelial and endothelial cells, and vaccine results using gB alone have only shown partial success.

References

Tempest, P.R et al (1995) Identification of framework residues required to restore antigen binding during reshaping of a monoclonal antibody against the glycoprotein gB of human cytomegalovirus. Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 17:37-42