Intrathecal humoral responses are inversely associated with the frequency of simian immunodeficiency virus macrophage-tropic variants in the central nervous system

Sustained simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection of the central nervous system (CNS) depends on macrophage-tropic (M-tropic) strains that are often easily neutralizable. The CNS is often thought of as an immunologically privileged site that fosters replication of M-tropic quasispecies. Yet, there are limited data addressing the intrathecal antibody response or the role of the humoral response, in general, to control M-tropic strains. We investigated the temporal course of the intrathecal fusion inhibitory activity against an M-tropic viral variant and found an inverse relationship between the magnitude of this neutralization and the prevalence of M-tropic populations. These studies suggest a role for the humoral response in the suppression of M-tropic viral species in the CNS in experimental SIV infection.