In Vivo Administration of Lymphocyte - specific Monoclonal Antibodies in Nonhuman Primates

The selective delivery in vivo of a T lymphocyte-specific monoclonal antibody and immunotoxin conjugates to T cells in lymph node and spleen was assessed in rhesus monkeys. A transient coating of all T lymphocytes in the lymph nodes and spleens of healthy rhesus monkeys could be achieved after infusion of unconjugated anti-Tll. Because derivatized antibody is cleared more rapidly than unconijugated antibody, it was necessary to infuse a higher dose of immunotoxin than antibody alone to achieve saturation of the lymphocyte binding sites with antiTll. When sufficient antibody-toxin conjugate was infused, toxin was readily demonstrable on lymph node and spleen T cells by 16 h after infusion. This demonstration that toxins can be successfully delivered with specificity to target T cell populations in the monkey suggests that killing of restricted cell populations in vivo should be feasible.