Molecular Approach to Virulence: Isolation and Characterization of Avirulent Mutants of Rabies Virus

Nine anti-G monoclonal antibodies were used to select mutants of the CVS strain of rabies virus resistant to neutralization. Seven mutants were avirulent in adult mice and two others exhibited an attenuated pathogenicity. Both categories were resistant to monoclonal antibodies 194-2 and 248-8. Virulence appears to be associated with a particular configuration of a region of the glycoprotein which is located at the intersection of the epitopes recognized by these two monoclonal antibodies. Our results confirm the role played by the glycoprotein in the neurovirulence of rabies virus.