Monoclonal Antibodies Recognizing HIV-1 gp41 Could Inhibit Env-Mediated Syncytium Formation

Some monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) could inhibit infection by HIV-1. In this study, four mAbs against HIV-1 gp41 were prepared in mice. All four mAbs could bind to the recombinant soluble gp41 and recognize the native envelope glycoprotein gp160 expressed on the HIV-Env⁺ CHO-WT cell in flow cytometry analysis. Interestingly, the results show that all four mAbs purified by affinity chromatography could inhibit HIV-1 Env-mediated membrane fusion (syncytium formation) by 40%-60% at 10 µg/mL, which implies potential inhibitory activities against HIV-1.