The Neutralizing Anti-HIV Antibody 2G12

The human monoclonal antibody (mAb) 2G12 was isolated from an asymptomatic HIV-1 infected patient in 1990. In 1994, its neutralizing activity against HIV-1 strains and binding to the glycoprotein 120 (gp120) was described for the first time (Buchacher et al. 1994; Purtscher et al. 1994; Trkola et al. 1995). At that time a recombinantly expressed 2G12 IgG1 protein was already available (see below) and characterization was exclusively done with this recombinant molecule so that a confusion between hybridoma derived and recombinantly expressed 2G12 could be precluded.