Monoclonal Anti-CD4 Antibody MT310 Binds HIV-1 gp120 Binding Site on CD4

Tests show the monoclonal anti-CD4 antibody (mAb) MT310 recognizes the gp120-binding site on CD4 as part of its mechanism for strongly inhibiting human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection of CD4⁺ T cells. In competition tests, mAb MT310 and mAb Leu3a (an anti-CD4 mAb recognizing the gp120-binding site) all inhibited gp120-binding to CD4⁺ T lymphocytes, while mAb MT405 did not. This result suggests that MT310, like Leu3a, recognizes the gp120-binding site on CD4. To further confirm whether MT310 recognizes the gp120-binding site on CD4, we prepared rabbit anti-idiotypic antisera (Ab2) against MT310 (Ab1). The anti-idiotypic antisera against MT310 inhibited binding of MT310 and Leu3a to human CD4⁺ T lymphocytes, but did not block binding of MT151 with the second domain of CD4, while rabbit anti-idiotypic antisera to MT151 could block binding of itself to these cells, but could not inhibit the binding of MT310 and Leu3a, further indicating that MT310 recognized the gp120-binding site on CD4.