Antibodies to human and non-human primate cellular and culture medium components in macaques vaccinated with the simian immunodeficiency virus.

Inactivated simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) grown in a human T-cell line induces protection from infection by the virus in macaques. However, observations that immunization with uninfected human T cells or with SIV-1 prepared in human T cells can also induce protection, has raised the possibility that protective antigens could be of human cellular origin. Sera from animals immunized with fixed infected and uninfected human T cells, as well as from animals immunized with partially purified cell-free SIV have been examined for their ability to bind to human and macaque peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and to-components present in fetal calf serum (FCS) in which the cells were grown. Analysis by flow cytometry suggests that antibodies to human cell surface antigens can be elicited with both inactivated SIV grown in human T cells and by uninfected T cells. There was a significant association between the presence of anti-cell antibodies and protection from infection. However, anti-cell surface antibodies were not detected with macaque mononuclear cells by flow cytometry or by immunoprecipitation, unless these cells were first treated with FCS or activated by a mitogen. Immunoprecipitation of resting human PBMC with sera from immunized animals suggests the presence of antibodies to class I heavy and light chains [beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2 m)] and to bovine beta 2m, which may originate in FCS used to grow the cell line. Antibodies to CD4 were also found in sera from animals immunized with SIV grown in human T cells. We suggest that human cellular components augmented by FCS elicit anti-class I heavy chain, beta 2m, CD4 and FCS antibodies which may be responsible for protection against SIV infection in macaques.