title: Dynamics of maternal IgG antibody decay and HIV-specific antibody synthesis in infants born to seropositive mothers. The NYC Perinatal HIV Transmission Study Group.
abstract: We have used a human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-specific IgG-Fc capture enzyme immunoassay (IgG-CEIA) to elucidate the dynamics of HIV-1 maternal antibody decay and de novo synthesis of HIV-1 antibodies in infants. Two hundred and thirty-nine serum specimens from 77 infants were analyzed by the IgG-CEIA and by two different conventional EIAs. With the IgG-CEIA, IgG was captured by an anti-human IgG monoclonal antibody (3C8) that reacts with all subclasses and was detected by recombinant HIV-1 envelope protein (CBre3)-peroxidase conjugate. Unlike the conventional EIAs, the IgG-CEIA showed a rapid decay of HIV-1-specific antibody in uninfected infants, with decline to background levels by 6 months (T1/2 [half-life] = 28-30 days). All 69 specimens collected from 39 uninfected infants between 6 and 15 months of age were negative by IgG-CEIA. However, HIV-1 antibodies remained high in infected infants; 20/22 infants (90.9%) with specimens between the ages of 6 to 23 months were positive by IgG-CEIA. Subtracting mean IgG-CEIA optical density values of seroreverting infants from those of HIV-1-infected infants in corresponding age groups provided a model for seroconversion in infected infants, with detectable IgG antibody synthesis starting about 3 months after birth. The IgG-CEIA may be a simple and important tool for early diagnosis of HIV-1 infection in infants at 6 months of age.
authors.affiliation: Division of HIV/AIDS, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30330.
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Parekh
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shaffer
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Coughlin
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Krasinski
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Abrams
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bamji
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hutson
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schochetman
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000151:congenital / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007112:Immunity, Maternally-Acquired; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000378:metabolism*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000276:immunology*; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D015483:HIV Antibodies; D007074:Immunoglobulin G