Construction and Application of a Canine SLAM Receptor-Based System from Vero Cell Line to Virus Isolation and Parallel Antibody Screening

TL;DR

Researchers developed a new cell system to isolate a deadly dog virus and identified a promising antibody for diagnostics and treatments.

Contribution

A novel canine SLAM receptor-based cell system was developed for virus isolation and parallel antibody screening.

Findings

A wild-type CDV strain was isolated using the Vero-SLAM cell platform.

A specific scFv with virus-binding affinity comparable to commercial antibodies was identified.

Molecular studies revealed the scFv binds to a novel epitope on the CDV-H protein.

Abstract

Canine distemper virus (CDV) remains a highly contagious and lethal pathogen, posing a severe global threat to domestic dogs and wild carnivores. To address the urgent need for effective interventions, we utilized a proprietary Vero-SLAM cell platform to isolate a wild-type CDV strain and generate neutralizing polyclonal antibodies. Subsequently, phage display technology was employed to screen for single-chain variable fragments (scFvs) targeting the CDV hemagglutinin protein (CDV-H). This approach led to the identification of a specific scFv with virus-binding affinity comparable to commercial antibodies, which effectively blocks CDV infection in Vero-SLAM cells. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations were conducted to elucidate the interaction mechanism, suggesting that this scFv binds to a novel and unique epitope on the CDV-H. These findings not only expand our understanding of the antigenic properties of the CDV H protein but also provide a theoretical foundation and a promising candidate molecule for the development of future CDV diagnostics and antiviral strategies.

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