CARRIER NEUTRALIZATION ASSAY

摘要

A unique assay is disclosed for evaluating neutralization of HIV -I virus. The assay uses a carrier cell that contains a lipid bilayer with lipids that allows binding of HIV-I but that cannot be infected by virus. The carrier-bound HIV-I still retains the ability to move from the carrier to a target cell when it is co-cultured with the target cell. In the assay, the carrier-bound HIV-1 is exposed to candidate neutralizing antibodies, and non-bound antibodies are washed away. The carrier-bound HlV-l containing bound antibody is then evaluated for the ability to infect any relevant target cell (such as a CD4-positive lymphocyte), and the degree of infectivity of the target cell will reflect the relative neutralizing activity (if any) of the antibody that was used to coat the carrier-bound HIV-1.