Study on Tumor Antigens of BLV Infected Lymph Nodes in Comparison with FLK-BLV Cell Culture

To detect the tumor antigens in BLV associated lymph nodes and comparing with FLK-BLV cell culture antigens by immunoblotting. Design: Observational study. Samples: Nineteen BLV lnfected and 2 healthy lymph nodes. Procedure: SDS-PAGE and Westem blotting were car:ried out for all infected and non infected lymph nodes.

SDS-PAGE results revealed no considerable differences between infected and non-infected lymph nodes. Among all protein profiles of BLV infected lymph nodes, in western blot test, protein bands with 54,52,47, 46, 44, 43,39 and 36 kD weight were detected to be immunogenic.BothT2 and 57 kD bands were exist in all infected and non-infected lymph nodes as well as FLKBLV cells. Cells infected by BLV (FLK-BLV) demonstrated only 48 kD band as an immunoreactive protein identical to only one sample profile.

The present work demonstrates at least 8 different immunogenic proteins in BLV infected lymph nodes that could be classified to three distinct profiies. 48kD protein demonstrated in FLK- BLV and just one of the profiles, seems to be a viral antigen that is expressing in certain conditions.