Immunotherapy of a viral disease by in vivo production of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies

Continuous and sustained in vivo production of monoclonal antibodies by eng ineered cells might render longterm antibody-based treatments cost-effectiv e, avoid side effects associated with infusion of massive doses of antibody , and circumvent possible antiidiotypic responses against the therapeutic a gent. The FrCasE retrovirus induces a lethal neurodegeneration on infection of newborn mice. We report here that implantation of cellulose sulfate cap sules containing cells secreting an ectopic monoclonal antibody neutralizin g FrCasE can prevent animals from developing the disease. All treated mice showed reduced or undetectable viremia in addition to a lack of the histopa thological lesions characteristic of FrCasE infection. This work paves the way for a novel gene/cell antibody-based immunotherapy of a variety of seve re viral and nonviral diseases.