Antibody response against the M138L deficient strains in NZW rabbits.

<p>NZW rabbits were inoculated with 100 PFUs of Myxoma virus (MYXV) WT, M138L Del, M138L STOP or M138L Rev strains in the left flank or mock infected. <b>A.</b> Sera collected at day 9 p.i. were compared for their capacity to neutralize MYXV WT virions. Briefly, MYXV WT virions were incubated with various amounts of sera from the different rabbits infected by the different strains. After incubation (2h, 37°C) the viruses were plaque assayed for infectivity on RK13 cells. MYXV titers are expressed relative to virus without antibody. The data presented are the average +/- SEMs for 3 independent replicates and were analyzed by 2way ANOVA and Bonferroni post-tests, * p<0.05, ** p<0.01, *** p<0.001. <b>B.</b> The titer of anti-MYXV antibodies was estimated by ELISA as described in the Materials and Methods. Each value represents the mean +/- SEMs of the data obtained for the rabbits of each group. The sera of mock infected rabbits were taken as controls. Only samples until day 9 p.i. are shown for the rabbits infected by WT and M138L Rev strains as they had to be euthanized at day 9 post-infection.