Neutralization of bovine papillomavirus by antibodies to L1 and L2 capsid proteins

We have generated four mouse monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to bovine papillomavirus virions that bound type-specific, adjacent, and conformationally dependent epitopes on the L1 major capsid protein. All four MAbs were neutralizing at ratios of 1 MAb molecule per 5 to 25 L1 molecules, but only three effectively blocked binding of the virus to the cell surface. Therefore, antibodies can prevent papillomavirus infection by at least two mechanisms: inhibition of cell surface receptor binding and a subsequent step in the infectious pathway. The neutralizing epitopes of the bovine papillomavirus L2 minor capsid protein were mapped to the N-terminal half of L2 by blocking the neutralizing activity of full-length L2 antiserum with bacterially expressed peptides of L2. In addition, rabbit antiserum raised against amino acids 45 to 173 of L2 had a neutralizing titer of 1,000, confirming that at least part of the N terminus of L2 is exposed on the virion surface.