Antibodies and complement enhance binding and uptake of HIV-1 by human monocytes

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Abstract
To characterize antibody- and complement-mediated binding and uptake of HIV-1 by human monocytes. The first step in the infection of the monocyte by HIV-1 is binding of the virus to the susceptible cell. Procedures were designed to assess the influence of anti-HIV-1 antibodies and complement on this binding, and to study the process of internalization following binding. Human monocytes were incubated with fluorescein-labelled purified HTLV-IIIB virions and human sera with high-titre anti-HIV-1 antibodies and/or complement. Binding and uptake of virus by the monocytes was measured as fluorescence per cell by flow cytometry. Binding of purified HIV-1 to monocytes was increased by complement and, to a lesser extent, by anti-HIV-1 antibodies. Uptake of HIV-1 bound to the monocyte appeared to be mediated by antibodies and was increased further by the presence of complement. Complement alone, however, resulted in the uptake of only a small part of the bound virus. Complement significantly increases the binding of HIV-1 to human monocytes, and a combination of antibodies and complement efficiently mediates uptake of HIV-1 by monocytes.

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