J Korean Soc Virol.  1998 Dec;28(4):383-391.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected T Cells Are Selectively Killed by Monoclonal Anti-gp120 Antibody Coupled to Pokeweed Antiviral Protein

• Kang MR
• Kim SY
• Kim YK
• Hong HJ
• Cho MH
• Shin HS

Abstract

A murime monoclonal antibody (mAb) specific for the envelope glycoprotein gp120 of human immunodeficiency virus type-I (HIV-1) was chemically coupled to pokeweed antiviral protein (PAP) from Phytolacca americana. The immunotoxin was purified by FPLC using 5200 colum. The purified immunotoxin efficiently bound to HIV-infected T cells as evidenced by fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis. The immunotoxin selectively killed human T lymphoid lines infected with HIV-lIIIB at less than 250 pM of the immunotoxin cells, while PAP or mAb alone did not have any significant effect on infected cells. The uninfected control T cell lines were not affected. Human cells infected with HIV-2 or other HIV-1 strains were not killed, suggesting that the killing depends completely on the antibody used for coupling. These in vitro results suggest that the PAP-mAb conjugate may be used to selectively remove cells expressing viral antigens from individuals infected with HIV.

MeSH Terms

Antigens, Viral
Cell Line
Glycoproteins
HIV
HIV-1
HIV-2
Homicide
Humans*
Immunotoxins
Phytolacca americana*
T-Lymphocytes*
Antigens, Viral
Glycoproteins
Immunotoxins