Systemic administration of a broadly-neutralizing IgG antibody to generate HIV-neutralization responses in breast milk

Background Postnatal acquisition of HIV during breastfeeding is responsible for almost half of 350,000 pediatric HIV infections occurring yearly. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop immunologic interventions to impede breast milk transmission of HIV, including immunization and passive infusion strategies. We previously observed that functional antibody responses in milk of HIV- infected mothers mirror that in plasma, suggesting that inducing strong systemic IgG responses may lead to virus inhibition in milk. Therefore, we investigated the kinetics of binding and neutralizing antibodies in plasma and milk of passively- infused lactating rhesus monkeys. Methods