Question:

I used antibody P1101 in Western blotting for the detection of recombinant ICP4 (HSV-2), both tagged and untagged. I did not get any specific signal, although I got a western band with an antibody against the tag. So the protein must be there, but I cannot detect it.

I diluted the antibody in an range from 1:100 to 1:1000.

Does mab P1101 recognize only HSV-1 protein or also HSV-2 ICP4? Do you know anything about the epitope? Is there evidence that tagging could result in hiding the epitope?

Does this antibody detect ICP4 in HSV-2 infected cell lysate?

Resolution:

The antibody works well in detecting HSV-1 (MacIntyre) but we have not had much luck with HSV-2(G). You may find information regarding the epitope in:

Hubenthal-Voss, J., Houghten, R. A., Pereira, L. & Roizman, B. (1988). Mapping of functional domains of the a4 protein of herpes simplex virus 1. J. Virol. 62, 454-462.

I have sent a PDF file of western results of these antibodies - you will find P1101 included in them.

We would be glad to take on the project of developing an antibody to it. It would take a few months but might be worth the effort.

Let me know if this interests you.