Methods for the detection of HIV-1 or -2 antigens employing monoclonal antibodies that recognize a shared HIV-1/-2 epitope in the capsid p24/p26 proteins

摘要

The present invention relates to novel monoclonal antibodies which may be used in the detection of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). These antibodies exhibit an unusually high degree of sensitivity, a remarkably broad range of specificity, and bind to novel shared, non-cross-reactive epitopes. In particular, the monoclonal antibodies of the present invention may be utilized to detect HIV-1 antigen and HIV-2 core antigen in a patient sample.