Preliminary applications of the mAbs
To explore the potential application of these mAbs, three mAbs B2A1, B2H10, and B2E12, which were the representative of each mAb group, were used in IFA, immunohistochemical staining, and immunoelectron microscopy for detecting pB602L in ASFV infected cells or tissues. During the mAb characterizing process, we proved that all these mAbs were performed well in detecting recombinant pB602L expressing in Sf-12 cells by IFA. But when they were used to stain ASFV infected PAM cell, strong florescence signals were detected only in the cells stained with B2H10 (Fig. 3). In the immunoelectron microscopy test, specific high electron density gold particles were observed in ASFV assembly factories of the cells which were labeled with B2A1 (Fig. 4A), B2H10 (Fig. 4B), and B2E12 (Fig. 4C), respectively, but not in the controls labeled with PBS instead of an antibody (Fig. 4D). Interestingly, we also found that few gold particles were localized on the surface of viral particles or at vesicular membranes. In the immunohistochemical test, very strong positive signs were observed in all the ASFV infected pig tissues including spleen, tosil, and gastrahepatic lymph node that were stained with each of the three mAbs, but not in the controls (Fig. 5), indicating all these mAbs can be used in immunohistochemical staining.