CMV pentamer antibody

Sheep anti CMV pentamer antibody has been raised against recombinant CMV gH pentameric complex, expressed in mammalian cells. The Cytomegalovirus (CMV) gH pentamer complex is expressed on all wildtype hCMV strains but is notably missing from laboratory strains such as AD169 (Freed et al, 2013). This has placed severe limitations on vaccine development. Receptor-mediated viral entry into endothelial cells requires a functional gH pentameric complex, and this complex is one of the primary targets for antiviral antibodies in infected individuals. The gH complex comprises the gH, gL, UL128, UL130 and UL131 proteins. The sheep anti-CMV pentamer antibody has been shown to react with each of the components of the pentamer in Western blotting analysis.