Targeted killing of virally infected cells by radiolabeled antibodies to viral proteins.

• Main Authors: Ekaterina Dadachova, Mahesh C Patel, Sima Toussi, Christos Apostolidis, Alfred Morgenstern, Martin W Brechbiel, Miroslaw K Gorny, Susan Zolla-Pazner, Arturo Casadevall, Harris Goldstein
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2006-11-01
• Series: PLoS Medicine
• Online Access: http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC1630718?pdf=render
• ISSN: 1549-1277; 1549-1676

The HIV epidemic is a major threat to health in the developing and western worlds. A modality that targets and kills HIV-1-infected cells could have a major impact on the treatment of acute exposure and the elimination of persistent reservoirs of infected cells. The aim of this proof-of-principle study was to demonstrate the efficacy of a therapeutic strategy of targeting and eliminating HIV-1-infected cells with radiolabeled antibodies specific to viral proteins in vitro and in vivo.Antibodies to HIV-1 envelope glycoproteins gp120 and gp41 labeled with radioisotopes bismuth 213 ((213)Bi) and rhenium 188 ((188)Re) selectively killed chronically HIV-1-infected human T cells and acutely HIV-1-infected human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (hPBMCs) in vitro. Treatment of severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice harboring HIV-1-infected hPBMCs in their spleens with a (213)Bi- or (188)Re-labeled monoclonal antibody (mAb) to gp41 resulted in a 57% injected dose per gram uptake of radiolabeled mAb in the infected spleens and in a greater than 99% elimination of HIV-1-infected cells in a dose-dependent manner. The number of HIV-1-infected thymocytes decreased 2.5-fold in the human thymic implant grafts of SCID mice treated with the (188)Re-labeled antibody to gp41 compared with those treated with the (188)Re-control mAb. The treatment did not cause acute hematologic toxicity in the treated mice.The current study demonstrates the effectiveness of HIV-targeted radioimmunotherapy and may provide a novel treatment option in combination with highly active antiretroviral therapy for the eradication of HIV.