EN
The protein antigens of BLV were detected in the lysates of bovine lymphocytes stimulated in vitro using the Western blot method. Specific antibodies against BLV were detected in the sera of animals by the ELISA test. Protein bands of the molecular weight 72, 51, 35 and 24 kD were detected by the rabbit antiserum against BLV in the blots from infected lymphocytes and FLK cells. Thе proteins mentioned above were not detected in the lysates of lymphocytes of uninfected animals. Densitometry analysis of immunoblots from FLK cells indicated that a minimal amount of 100 ug of gp51 viral protein can be discovered. The presence of BLV antigens and specific antibodies were detected in 18 of 25 animals. The antibodies were also found in four cows of the remaining seven animals whose lymphocytes were free from BLV proteins.