The monoclonal antibody VZ 67C.02 recognizes VZV ORF67.
ORF67 is the envelope glycoprotein I of VZV, gI (UniProtKB – Q775H9). It is an ortholog of HSV-1 protein US7. Mallory et al (J Infect Dis (1998) 178 (Supplement_1): S22-S26) showed that the ORF67 gene product expression is required for efficient VZV replication. Oliver et al (J Virol. 2011 May; 85(9): 4095–4110) showed that intact gI structure required for gE/gI heterodimer formation is necessary for effective viral spread in human skin. Same group showed Golgi localization and larger size of ORF67 protein than predicted (40 kDa), suggesting its glycosilation. Our monoclonal antibody confirmed that ORF67 protein localizes to the Golgi and other membranes and also confimed its significantly larger size (50-70 kDa) in Western blot.
Our anti-ORF67 antibody has been validated in ELISA (on immunogen), IF (VZV infected cells) and in WB (VZV infected cell lysates) as described in J Virol. 2013 Jun;87(12):6943-54.