Immunohistochemical detection of Influenza virus infection in formalin-fixed tissues with anti-H5 monoclonal antibody recognizing FFWTILKP

The worldwide outbreak of avian influenza among poultry species and humans is associated with the H5N1 subtype of avian influenza A virus (AIV). This highlighted the need to develop safe H5 AIV diagnostic methods. 7H10, an H5-specific monoclonal antibody (Mab), can be used for immunohistochemical (IHC) staining for formalin-fixed tissue. An assortment of H5N1 tissue specimens infected naturally in paraffin sections from Asia, between years 2002–2006, including one human specimen, were tested. 7H10 detected H5 infection in all of these tissue samples infected naturally. In addition, 24 different human H5N1 isolates from Indonesia, 5 avian H5 isolates and 3 non-H5 isolates from Asia were inoculated into BALB/C mice and chicken embryos. Among these influenza viruses, 7H10 detected 28 of the 29 H5 virus strains by immunohistochemical staining, while none of non-H5 strains used in this study could be detected by 7H10, confirming its specificity to H5. Further, the eight-residue-long linear epitope, “FFWTILKP”, identified through epitope mapping, enables 7H10 to detect >98.3% of H5 subtype viruses reported worldwide before 2007. This study describes a specific H5 diagnostic system with minimal possibility of exposure to live virus based on immunochemical staining.