Lack of autologous neutralizing antibodies in the cerebrospinal fluid of HIV-1 infected individuals.

The cerebrospinal fluids (CSF) and sera from HIV-1-infected individuals at different clinical stages were monitored for neutralizing activity against CSF-derived HIV-1 isolates. None of the CSF samples and only one of seven serum samples could neutralize the autologous CSF isolate. CSF samples collected one to two years later from the same patients also lacked autologous neutralizing antibodies against these isolates. However, some CSF samples were able to neutralize heterologous CSF isolates albeit in low titers. HIV antibody positive control sera could readily neutralize all of the CSF isolates demonstrating that these isolates were not resistant to neutralization per se. IgG antibodies against the HIV-1 envelope protein and, specifically, against the V3 loop of HIV-1 gp120 (MN) were present in some CSF samples, although the samples lacked neutralizing activity. In summary, this study demonstrates a lack of autologous neutralizing antibodies in CSF samples when assayed against CSF-derived HIV-1 isolates.