We are generating monoclonal antibodies to HTLV II viral proteins for use in Western blot and RIPA analysis of HTLV II infected cells. Mice were immunized with detergent disrupted HTLV II. Following repeated boosts, the mice were bled and the polyclonal sera tested on HTLV I and HTLV II Western Blot for reactivity. The mice were sacrificed and spleen cells fused with a fusion partner to generate hybridoma cell lines. 26 cell lines were cloned and chosen for study based on the reactivity of the cell supernatant on HTLV I and HTLV II ELISA assays. Preliminary results show reactivity of supernatant from 8 clones with a band that appears to be the HTLV II envelope glycoprotein on Western blot. The supernatants will be further characterized to determine their reactivities.
