Modifying the antigen-immunization schedule improves the variety of monoclonal antibodies obtained from immune-phage antibody libraries against HIV-1 Nef and Vif

Abstract

Immune phage antibody libraries are an attractive technology for isolating antigen-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Here we show that the immunization schedule affects the immune phage antibody library properties. We subcutaneously (s.c.) administered HIV-1 Nef and Vif antigens with different schedules (25 μg × 2 s.c. and 10 μg × 3 s.c.). The variety of isolated mAbs in 25 μg × 2 s.c. groups (Nef: 11 clones, Vif: 9 clones) was superior to that in the 10 μg × 3 s.c. groups (Nef: 2 clones, Vif: 1 clone). This finding suggests that it is important to optimize the immunization schedule for isolating a wide variety of mAbs.