Evaluation of monoclonal antibody-based immunohistochemistry for the detection of European and North American Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus and a comparison with in situ hybridization and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction

The objective of the present study was to compare the ability of 2 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs; SDOW17 and SR30) to detect types 1 and 2 Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) lung tissues by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and to compare the immunohistochemical results with in situ hybridization (ISH) and reverse transcription nested polymerase chain reaction (RT-nPCR) detection techniques. Lungs from 30 experimentally infected pigs (15 pigs with each genotype of PRRSV) and 20 naturally infected pigs (10 pigs with each genotype of PRRSV) with types 1 and 2 PRRSV, respectively, were used for the IHC, ISH, and RT-nPCR analyses. The SR30 mAb-based IHC detected significantly more type 1 PRRSV-positive cells in the accessory and caudal lobes from the experimentally infected pigs at 7 (P = 0.025) and 14 (P = 0.018) days postinoculation, respectively, compared to the SDOW17 mAb-based IHC. The results demonstrated that SR30 mAb-based IHC is useful for detecting both types 1 and 2 PRRSV antigen in FFPE lung tissues.